Police constable drowns in lake

A-56-year-old constable drowned in a Thane lake Thursday evening after going for a swim with four other colleagues, police said. According to police, the constable has been identified as Bhaskar Harar who was four years away from retirement and was attached with Thane rural police’s Shahpur police station. M B Shakre, senior police inspector with Shahpur police, said that Harar along with the four constables had gone to Khatevali lake after work.

Harar was the only one who knew how to swim and had gone for a dip alone. “Around 5.30 pm on Thursday, the four constables watched Harar struggle to stay afloat. According to them, Harar was nearly 50 metres into the lake and there was no one around to help him. They said they watched Harar drown,” Shakre said. The police suspect that the constable faced some cramp that led to his drowning. Search operations are underway as divers from the police department, members of the Thane Municipality Cooperation and the fire brigade are jointly looking for the missing constable.