By Tejas

Pune, August 20, 2024: A tragic incident occurred yesterday, around 8:30 a.m., in Tapkir Vasti, Moshi, where two students drowned and one remains missing while performing a puja of the Indrayani River on the occasion of Shravani Pournima. The deceased students have been identified as Jay Omprakash Daima (19) from Vani, Nashik, and Omkar Shrikrishna Pathak (16) from Padmavati Galli, Latur. The missing student is Pranav Ramakant Potdar (17), originally from Ashti, Beed.

The students were learning in the Vedic school at Vedshree Tapovan in Moshi, and nearly 71 students, accompanied by their teacher Mahesh Nande, went to the Indrayani River to perform the traditional puja. While performing the ritual, four students—Omkar Pathak, Pranav Potdar, Archit Dixit, and Chaitanya Pathak—accidentally slipped into the river.

Hearing their cries for help, Jay Daima bravely entered the river in an attempt to rescue them. He successfully saved Archit and Chaitanya, but during the effort, water entered Jay's nose and mouth, leading to his death. He was immediately taken to Yashwantrao Chavan Hospital for treatment, but he was declared dead by doctors on arrival.

Following the incident, rescue teams from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Fire Department, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Pimpri-Chinchwad Disaster Management Department, Wildlife Protector Maval, and another rescue team from Alandi were deployed to the site. Omkar's body was recovered around 2 p.m., but the search for Pranav Potdar continued late into the night.

Despite the efforts, the search operation had to be halted due to darkness, with plans to resume the following day. Assistant Police Commissioner Sachin Hire confirmed that a case of accidental death has been registered and assured that an investigation is ongoing. He said, "We are conducting a detailed investigation of the incident, and appropriate action will be taken against those found responsible after the investigation is completed."

In this regard, police registered a case of accidental deaths.