UP Two brothers drown in river in Banda five-year-old dies in pond in Maharajganj

     Banda/Maharajganj (UP), Nov 9 (PTI) Two brothers drowned while bathing in a river in Uttar Pradesh's Banda district, while their 16-year-old cousin remains missing. In a separate incident, a five-year-old boy died after allegedly drowning in a pond in Maharajganj district, police said on Monday.

     In Banda, the incident took place around 3 pm on Sunday at Seeman Ghat in Naugawan village in the Kalinjar area, when Rishabh (20), his younger brother Ansh (16) and their cousin Ayush (16) drowned while bathing in the Bagai river, Circle Officer Saurabh Singh said.

     The bodies of Rishabh and Ansh were recovered late Sunday evening with the help of locals and police divers, while a search operation was underway to trace Ayush, he said.

     Rishabh was pursuing BTech in Lucknow, while Ansh and Ayush were studying in Class 12 at a local school, the officer said, adding that the bodies of the two brothers had been sent for post-mortem examination.

     In the second incident, five-year-old Abhiraj Sahani allegedly drowned in a pond in Baijudehra village in the Paniyara area of Maharajganj district on Sunday evening.

     According to his family members, Abhiraj went missing from his house around 5 pm. During a search late at night, they spotted his shoe floating in a pond. Villagers subsequently searched the water and found him unconscious.

     He was taken to a hospital in Paniyara, from where doctors referred him to a medical college. However, he died on the way, his family members said.

     Abhiraj was the only child of Sunil and Rachna. His father works as a painter and polisher outside the village.

     Paniyara Station House Officer Kunwar Gaurav Singh said police had not received any written complaint in connection with the incident so far.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)