Multiple unfortunate incidents during the Ganesh idol immersion across Madhya Pradesh resulted in four confirmed fatalities and left five individuals missing, according to police reports. The festive celebrations turned into grief for several families as authorities and rescue teams intensified search operations to locate the missing persons amidst challenging weather and water conditions.
Drowning incidents in Dhar and Bhind
In Dhar district, located around 60 kilometers from the district headquarters on the Dolchi road in Badnagar, three young men drowned while immersing a Ganesh idol in a pond. Additional Superintendent of Police Parul Velapurkar stated that the bodies of Pavan alias Kanhaiya Rathore, Rahul Prajapat, and Nihal Bhambhi were recovered after they ventured nearly 500 meters beyond the designated immersion boundary, where one slipped into deep water and the others drowned while attempting a rescue. Meanwhile, in Bhind, three teenagers aged 16 to 17 went missing after stepping into the Sindh river near Kanawar village for the immersion rituals. Superintendent of Police Suraj Verma noted that search operations for the missing boys, identified as Krishna Bhadoria, Abhijit Bhadoria, and Madan Bhadoria, faced severe hurdles due to heavy river currents and ongoing rain.
Khandwa and Sehore casualties
In Khandwa district near Nahalda village, five boys entered a water-filled quarry for the immersion, leading to another crisis. While local youths managed to rescue three of them, brothers Vishwas and Laksh remained untraceated. In Sehore district, 16-year-old Atul Ahirwar from Silkheda drowned in a quarry situated nearly 1.5 kilometers away from the Silkheda-Mungaoli road. Villagers pulled him out after 30 minutes and rushed him to medical centers in Ahmadpur and Doraha, where doctors pronounced him dead upon arrival. Additional Superintendent of Police Prashant Choubey confirmed that an accidental death case has been registered.
