Two Buldhana women die after pilgrim boat capsizes in Godavari, no FIR filed

Victims were among devotees visiting Purushottampuri temple during the once-in-three-years Purushottam month; locals say routine overloading of boats led to incident

Kantabai Nyandev Andhale (left) and Pramila Seshrao Rathod (right) [Special Arrangement]

4 min readMumbaiJun 10, 2026 07:13 PM IST First published on: Jun 10, 2026 at 07:00 PM IST

Two women from Buldhana district died after a motorised boat carrying pilgrims capsized in the Godavari river near Purushottampuri on Wednesday morning, however, lack of clarity on police jurisdiction led to an FIR not being filed till late evening.

The deceased have been identified as Pramila Seshrao Rathod (55) of Mahar village in Lonar taluka and Kantabai Nyandev Andhale (63) of Kumbhefal village in Sindkhed Raja taluka.

According to police, the incident occurred around 10.30 am near Golegaon village in Partur taluka of Jalna district, in the Godavari river that separates Jalna and Beed districts. They said the boat was ferrying at least 60 passengers of which 40 were women, charging Rs 10 to Rs 15 per head.

Ashok Kangne, a government school teacher and neighbour who knows both families, said around 15 women from the two villages left at around 3 am in a cruiser vehicle and reached Purushottampuri in the morning.

“The women boarded the boat at the Godavari bank and it capsized in the middle of the river. Both women died on the spot. The boat’s capacity is around 12 to 15 passengers, but they are mostly overloaded without any safety gear. The ferry business is run by local people for generations and there had been no fatal accidents earlier,” Kangne said.

“The deceased women were widows and their children are not in a state to speak. Villagers are helping with the paperworks. By 6pm, the postmortem was done and we are headed back to our villages to perform the final rites,” Kangne said. Rathod is survived by two sons, while Andhale is survived by two sons, a daughter and grandchildren.

Temple trustee Vijay Golekar said there has been a surge in pilgrim footfall due to the ongoing Purushottam Maas (Adhik Maas), an additional month in the Hindu lunar calendar that is considered especially auspicious and occurs roughly once every three years. During this period, devotees from across the country visit the Purushottampuri temple and take a holy dip in the Godavari.

“It started on May 17 and will continue till June 15. During this period around 1.5 lakh devotees visit the temple every day,” Golekar said, adding that the boat was overcrowded. “These boatmen do not listen. For a few extra rupees they put lives in danger,” he said.

Former Purushottampuri sarpanch Bhausaheb Golekar said villagers had repeatedly raised concerns about overloading
of boats. “A similar incident happened in 2018, but nobody died then. The capacity of these boats is around 15
people but they are routinely overloaded,” he said.

Assistant police inspector Ganesh Surwase of Ashti police station in Jalna district said the accident took place in the river stretch separating Golegaon and Purushottampuri and authorities were trying to determine the jurisdiction.

Surwase said preliminary information suggested that passengers may have shifted to one side of the vessel, causing it to lose balance and overturn.

“The spot was relatively shallow — around four to five feet deep. Elderly devotees find it difficult to wade through the river and take boats instead. There has been a disagreement over whether the accident site falls under the jurisdiction of police in Jalna district or Beed district. We are figuring out,” said Surwase.

Majalgaon police inspector Vijay Ramod maintained that the incident occurred under the jurisdiction of Ashti police station.

The conflicting accounts from the two police jurisdictions delayed clarity on where an FIR would be registered. “The matter is still under investigation and we will definitely take action against the boat operators for risking people’s lives,” Ramod said.