Three youths drowned in the Yamuna on Friday, while they were immersing idols at Shyam ghat near Jagatpur, police said. Police said the bodies of the three youths — Praveen (22), Deepanshu (23) and Shailesh (17) — have been shifted to the local mortuary for a postmortem, following which they will be handed over totheir families. According to their friend, Sagar, Shailesh had entered the river but strayed far from the group. “We were all in the shallow part of the river. We did not realise how he drifted away. We could see him flailing hisarms,” he said. As Shailesh started to drown, his friends — Deepanshu and Praveen — ventured into the deep part of the river and also drowned. “I called up police but they arrived too late to the spot. The divers also didn’t turn up on time,” Sagar alleged. A senior police officer said, “The three left home together in the afternoon. They told their parents that they would be immersing idols near Shyam ghat. About 10-12 youths had left at the same time and reached the ghat.” However, police claimed that several officials from the flood control department were at the spot. Divers at the Delhi Boat Club were also sent in after the incident was reported. Six divers, led by their in-charge Harish Kumar, managed to recover the men. They were taken to the local hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead. The families of the youths have not contacted police. Three youths drown in Yamuna while immersing idols at ghat “The families are yet to claim the bodies. We had taken appropriate precautions and had erected several boards asking people not to venture into the water, but they hardly listen,” an officer said.
