The bodies of two Class 10 students who were swept away by a strong current in the Mahananda River near the Fulbari barrage in north Bengal were recovered on Tuesday morning, nearly 48 hours after they went missing. The students had entered the river with a friend after visiting a shopping mall in Matigara, despite warnings about the dangerous flow.
The deceased were identified as Pragya Jyoti Das, from Singatala in Malda’s English Bazar, and Mohammad Safayel Hossain Nawshad, who was from Bangladesh. Both lived in the hostel of an English-medium school in Fulbari. Their friend, Dibyanshu Saha of Mekhliganj, was rescued by local people.
The three teenagers had obtained permission from their school and parents to go shopping at a mall in Matigara on Sunday. Instead of returning directly to the hostel after shopping, they travelled to the Mahananda barrage at Fulbari. Several barrage gates were open because of the monsoon, and the river was flowing at a high speed, according to the report.
A local fisherman, identified as Shankar Sarkar, reportedly warned the teenagers against entering the water at that stretch. The three nevertheless went into the river and were caught in the current. Local residents rescued Dibyanshu, while Pragya and Safayel were carried away.
Police teams from the Phansidewa and New Jalpaiguri stations reached the location after receiving information about the incident. A joint team of the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force then began an extensive search operation in the river and around the barrage.
The bodies were spotted on Tuesday morning around 200 metres from the barrage. An NDRF official said the way the bodies were found suggested that the two students may have remained together as they were swept away by the current.
The incident highlights the heightened risks around rivers and barrage sites during the monsoon, when water levels and flow conditions can change quickly. The report did not specify whether the stretch had formal barriers, warning boards or restricted-access arrangements for visitors.
Police sent the bodies to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem examination. Naxalbari Sub-Divisional Police Officer Soumyajit Roy said a detailed investigation was under way to establish the exact sequence of events.
According to sources cited in the report, Safayel’s father, who is in Bangladesh, has applied for an emergency visa to travel to India following the deaths. Officials appealed to parents to closely monitor children and prevent them from entering rivers, particularly during the monsoon season.
