7 minor girls drown during Karma Puja ritual in Jharkhand

DALTONGANJ: Seven girls, all minors and three of whom are sisters, have drowned in a pond in Latehar district while performing rituals of the Karma Puja, a tribal festival. The incident happened at Manandeeh Tola in Bukru village under Seregara panchayat of the Balumath police station area on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chief minister Hemant Soren and BJP state president Deepak Prakash on Saturday expressed shock at the incident.

In a tweet by the PMO, the prime minister said, “Shocked by the loss of young lives due to drowning in Latehar district, Jharkhand. In this hour of sadness, condolences to the bereaved families.”
Balumath circle officer Aftab Alam said three of the victims, Rekha (18), Rina (11) and Laxmi (8), are sisters and daughters of Aklu Ganjhu. The four other deceased are identified as Sushma Kumari (7), daughter of Charan Ganju; Meena (8), daughter of Laldev Ganjhu; Pinki Kumari (15), daughter of Jagan Ganjhu, and Sunita Kumari (17), daughter of late Bifa Ganjhu.
The girls had gone to the pond early in the morning for immersion of Karam tree branches as part of the puja. Locals said all seven of them drowned one after another as they stepped into the pond. Since it was early morning, there was no one around to help them immediately.
Later, some boys noticed them and rushed in to help but five of the girls had already died while two were fished out in an unconscious state. “Both were rushed along with the five others to the Balumath community health centre but the doctors declared them brought dead,” Alam said.
The circle officer also said the bodies were sent to the sadar hospital for post mortem after getting consent from their respective parents.
Meanwhile, deputy commissioner Abu Imran has directed the Latehar civil surgeon, Dr H C Mahto, to set up a three-member medical board to conduct the post mortem, following which a panel comprising Akhilesh Prasad, Ak Orya and Hari Om Prasad was constituted.
Expressing grief at the incident, Soren tweeted, “Shocked at the drowning and death of seven girls in Latehar. May they rest in peace and may the family members get the strength to bear the pain...”
BJP state president Deepak Prakash while expressing grief urged the state government to announce compensation for the bereaved family. “The Hemant Soren government must announce an ex gratia relief of at least Rs 10 lakh each for the kin of the victims,” he said.