Fulbari, 14th September: An intensive search operation is underway at the Fulbari Mahananda Barrage for two students who went missing after entering the river to bathe. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Civil Defence have joined the operation.
The search began on Monday morning, with police from Phansidewa and New Jalpaiguri police stations also involved in the operation. Search teams are using speedboats and divers to scan the river, while personnel are also searching different stretches on foot. However, the two missing students have not been traced so far.
According to information, three friends entered the Mahananda River at Fulbari Mahananda Barrage on Sunday to take a bath. Eyewitnesses said they had been warned against entering the water, but the three students went into the river despite the warning. When one of them stepped into a deep section and began to be swept away, the other two got into difficulty while trying to save him.
Local residents managed to rescue one of the students, identified as Divyansh Saha, while the other two were swept away in the river. Divyansh is a resident of Mekhliganj.
According to information provided by Divyansh, the two missing students have been identified as Pragjyoti Das and Mohammad Safael Hussain Naushad. Pragjyoti is a resident of Malda, while Naushad is reportedly a resident of Bangladesh. All three students are in Class 10 and were staying at the hostel of Narayana School near Jatiakali.
After receiving information about the incident, Pragjyoti’s parents travelled from Malda on Sunday night and reached Siliguri at around 1:30 am.
Pragjyoti’s mother, Arpita Das, said they received a phone call around 8 pm on Sunday informing them that their son had gone missing in the water. She said they immediately left Malda for Siliguri. According to her, Pragjyoti had left the hostel after obtaining his parents’ permission.
The search operation remains underway, with NDRF, Civil Defence, police and divers continuing efforts to trace the two missing students in different parts of the river.
