This story is from June 17, 2019

Kolkata magician disappears in Hooghly river after river magic trick

Chanchal Lahiri — who went under the stage name Mandrake — seems to have had little luck with this act. In 2013, when he performed the escape, he was assaulted by onlookers, who claimed they felt cheated as they had seen through the trick. On Sunday, the 41-year-old performed the underwater escape act again and was feared drowned in the Hooghly as he failed to swim back up.
Kolkata magician disappears in Hooghly river after river magic trick
Stunt gone wrong: Chanchal Lahiri attempts the escape in 2013
Key Highlights
  • Chanchal Lahiri — who went under the stage name Mandrake — was feared drowned in the Hooghly in front of a crowd of horrified onlookers while trying to perform an underwater escape act.
  • The magician has performed a similar act in 2013
KOLKATA: A 41-year-old magician was feared drowned in the Hooghly on Sunday in front of a crowd of horrified onlookers while trying to perform an underwater escape act, a version of which he had performed six years ago, and popularised by Harry Houdini almost 100 years back.
Chanchal Lahiri — who went under the stage name Mandrake — seems to have had little luck with this act.
In 2013, when he performed the escape, he was assaulted by onlookers, who claimed they felt cheated as they had seen through the trick.
There are conflicting reports on the accident, which happened around 12.35 pm near pillar 28 of Howrah bridge. A source said Lahiri had taken a launch to the broadest part of the river. Most spectators were on the vessel; others gathered on the shore and bridge. Lahiri was to tie his limbs and mouth and be dropped into the river by a crane. Some claimed he had jumped directly from the bridge, which authorities disputed. The plan was for him to swim back to the launch.
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Mandrake was no stranger to misadventures, recalls cop
But the swim back never happened. “When he did not come out for a long time, people panicked. A couple of people said they saw a man struggling, seeking help, in the middle of the river. The North Port police was informed and a team of divers from the disaster management group joined the rescue operation. Till late evening, Lahiri’s body was yet to be recovered,” said DC (Port) Syed Waquar Raza.

“Lahiri is a resident of the southern suburbs of Kolkata. He had sought permission from both Kolkata Police and the Kolkata Port Trust. He had clearly mentioned the act was to happen on a boat or vessel and there was no connection with water. Hence, we allowed him permission. However, he did vaguely mention an ‘extra act’, which he did not clarify. We are investigating,” Raza added.
In 2013, facing assault from the mob, he had said he was merely trying to popularise the art of magic. “Mandrake had been put into a sixfoot-tall cage with six locks. It was to go 30 feet under water. Even as a crane lowered the cage into the river, thousands watched from the Howrah bridge and the launch jetty in Howrah. About six seconds later, Mandrake emerged from the water and climbed on to a launch. Soon after he reached the Howrah ferry ghat, he was surrounded by people who claimed they were cheated. The cage, they claimed, was fitted with a false door that was easily visible,” one of the cops from the river traffic department recalled.
But that wasn’t Mandrake’s first magic misadventure. Almost a decade earlier, he had declared that he would walk on the Hooghly waters, but had to beat a hasty retreat when the performance went wrong.
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