The boat got stuck in a whirlpool of water, it overturned before it could start: This is why the SDRF jawans drowned, they will get assistance of Rs 25 lakh each

Rescue team on the banks of the river in Kachongara village. In the incident, the deceased jawans Haridas Chauhan and Praveen Kushwaha.

Highlights

The SDERF boat had overturned during the rescue of a youth trapped in the river at Kachongra in Bhind. Police from eight police stations were engaged in the search for the jawans. DIG of Disaster Management arrived from Bhopal. The angry villagers also manhandled Home Guard Commandant Umesh Sharma who arrived at the spot.

Naiduniya representative, Bhind. The bodies of two SDERF (State Disaster Emergency Relief Force) soldiers Hardas Chauhan and Praveen Kushwaha who drowned in the stop dam built on the Kwari river were found on Thursday evening. On Wednesday, some villagers and soldiers entered the river with a boat to rescue a youth trapped in the river. The boat capsized after getting stuck in a whirlpool. Some people swam out but two soldiers were missing.

On receiving information that villagers were trapped in the Kunwari river in Bhind district while trying to save a cow, SDERF jawans reached the spot and rescued the villagers safely but one villager died due to drowning. Unfortunately, during the rescue, the SDERF boat capsized…

— Dr. Mohan Yadav (@DrMohanYadav51) August 22, 2024

When the search was resumed on Thursday morning, DIG of Disaster Management Manish Agarwal and Divisional Commandant of Home Guard Manish Chauhan also reached the spot. Meanwhile, the angry villagers also manhandled Home Guard Commandant Umesh Sharma.

The boat overturned due to engine failure

According to the incident, 43-year-old Vijay, son of Mrigram Kushwaha, a resident of Kachungra, went to graze his cattle near the stop dam built on the Kwari river on Wednesday afternoon. One of the cattle got stuck in the stop dam. Vijay, who went to rescue it, also got stuck in the river. His brother Sunil and Nilesh and Madan of the village started efforts to rescue it. The SDERF team also entered the river with the villagers in a boat, but the engine of the boat stopped due to getting stuck in the whirlpool and the boat capsized. It is said that the soldiers took the closed boat for rescue. It got stuck in the whirlpool of water. Before the soldiers could start the boat, the boat capsized.

The bodies of the soldiers were found at different places

Somehow, with the help of the villagers, everyone was taken out but Vijay had died. Two soldiers did not know anything. The rescue operation was stopped due to nightfall. On Thursday morning, 40 soldiers entered the river in three boats using ropes as a net. In the evening, the body of Hardas Chauhan was found near Kanawar village and the body of Praveen Kushwaha was found near Syonda village, three km away from Kanawar.

Home Guard Commandant accused of demanding money

On Thursday afternoon around 12 o’clock, the villagers standing on the river bank became angry. The villagers alleged that Home Guard Commandant Umesh Sharma demanded one thousand rupees for petrol to run the boat for rescue. During the argument, the villagers also scuffled with him, however, the police present on the spot immediately chased the villagers away and made the Commandant sit at a safe place.