New Delhi, Sept. 2 -- What began as a light-hearted evening outing with friends ended in tragedy as three youths drowned in east Delhi's Sanjay Lake after they allegedly entered the water to take a dip, police said on Wednesday.
The incident took place around 7 pm Tuesday under Pandav Nagar police station limits when Ashish Nautiyal (21), Sahil (22) and Saurabh (21) had gone to Sanjay Lake together.
According to preliminary information, Ashish waded into deeper water and began to drown. When his friends saw him go underwater, they jumped into the lake in an attempt to save him. However, neither of them made it out.
Police and rescue personnel reached the spot after receiving information about the incident. Following a search operation, the bodies of all three youths were recovered from the lake. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem and further investigation into the circumstances leading to the drowning is underway, police said.
The incident has left three families grappling with loss. Ashish's father stated that his son had gone to Sanjay Lake with his friends where he drowned. "We do not know exactly what happened. But my child is lost." The family received a call regarding the incident, and has been inconsolable since. On the other hand, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which is responsible for maintenance of the lake, rejected allegations that the water body has deepened due to illegal sand mining carried out by the civic agency.
"With reference to the unfortunate drowning incident, it is clarified that the claims attributing the deepening of the water body and alleged illegal sand mining to the Delhi Development Authority are factually incorrect and misleading," the DDA said.
The agency said it had neither undertaken nor authorised any sand mining at the site and termed the allegation that the water body had deepened as a result of such mining activities as "completely unfounded".
The DDA said appropriate safety measures were in place at the site, including warning signs and a toe wall constructed around the water body.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.