BHOPAL: Seven out of the 17 men, women and children wading through river Chambal to cross to Rajasthan for offering prayers at a goddess temple, went missing in the river in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday.
While two bodies, including a man and a woman (both close relatives) have been recovered by Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan police, efforts are on to rescue five persons. The river divides Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior-Chambal region with Rajasthan’s Braj region.
All 17 persons are all from a village in Shivpuri district of Gwalior-Chambal region. The bodies retrieved are of Deokinandan Kushwah (55) and his sister-in-law Kallo Kushwah (40). Deokinandan had successfully crossed river 4-5 times in earlier occasions during the similar religious trek from his native village in Shivpuri district to the Kaila Devi Temple in Rajasthan’s Karauli district.
The five persons, feared drowned in the river, Deokinandan Kushwah’s wife Alopa Kushwah, Rukmini Kushwah, Lavkush Kushwah Brijmohan Kushwah and Rashmi Kushwah, all family members or close relatives.
Morena additional SP Raj Singh Narvariya said: “All the 17 people hailed from one village of Shivpuri district. They had left their village on Thursday to walk to the Kaila Devi Temple across Chambal river in Rajasthan’s Karauli district.
On their way to the Chambal river, they held each other’s hand to cross over to Rajasthan’s Karauli district. Unable to assess the depth of river water (whose level rose due to recent spell of rain), some slipped into deep water and drowned.”