Two teens feared drowned in Hooghly

Kolkata: Two Higher Secondary examinees, who along with four other friends, had gone for a swim in the Hooghly at the Baje Kadamtala Ghat, are feared to have drowned in the river on Wednesday evening. The cops have identified the two as Sk Israfel Ali(18), a resident of Topsia Road South and Md Belel(18), a resident of Topsia 2nd Lane.
“It was very hot and the six friends decided to go for a swim after the completion of their Higher Secondary Examination.Around 4pm, the two drowned in the river. Their friends began shouting for help and assistance of the Disaster Management Group was taken. But we could not trace the two teenagers till evening. Their family members have been informed,” said DC (Port) Zafar Ajmal Kidwai.
Sources said the students had their exams scheduled at a school somewhere in central Kolkata. They had specifically travelled by bus to Babughat to take a dip. “We are talking to the survivors to ascertain what took place and whether the two knew how to swim in the river,” said a police source at Lalbazar.
The River Police and DMG stated that they had carried out a search operation with six members, two of them divers, for around three-and-a-half hours till 7.30pm before calling off the operation. We will resume the search on Thursday morning,” said an officer. The locals, though, claimed the North Port Police was late in alerting the DMG—its office is located nearby—to begin operations. The North Port Police has denied the claim but they refused to talk to reporters about the incident, its OC saying he was preoccupied with “other things.”