SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Sept 26: Two children. including a girl drowned while immersing Karma Puja materials in Jamunia Dam under the Bhaghmara police station, around 28 km away from here, on Tuesday morning.
The children have been identified as Saloni Kumari (14), daughter of Vineswar Chouhan, and Devraj Kumar (10), son of Babloo Turi. Both were residents of Matigarha Colony.
An official of the Baghmara police station said that the incident occurred around 6 am. Seven children of Matigarha Colony had gone to the nearby Jamunia Dam to immerse the Karma Puja materials in the morning. After performing rituals they began bathing in the river.
In the course of bathing, Saloni Kumari and Devraj drowned in deep water, getting alarm from other children, passersby jumped in the river and brought out both the children. They were duly admitted to the Dumra regional hospital of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) where doctors declared them as brought dead.
Getting information, Baghmara MLA Dhulu Mahto also reached the houses of victims in Matigarha Colony and held the BCCL management responsible for it as there is no safety arrangement there. “I would ensure the victim families get proper compensation,” he said. The MLA also talked with the Baghmara Circle Officer (Ravibhushan Prasad) over the compensation.
The Baghmara police station officer-in-charge said both the bodies have been sent for postmortem.
