Chandigarh teen on vacation drowns in Baddi stream

Sonu Kumar, his brother, said one of Saurabh’s friends, Prince, informed them in the evening about the drowning

A 16-year-old boy from Chandigarh drowned in a stream in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district, police said on Wednesday. The boy identified as Saurabh Kumar drowned in the Nawanagar stream in the Baddi area on Tuesday, they said.

The police were alerted around 7 pm on Tuesday, which carried on the search through the night. (HT File)

Sonu Kumar, his brother, said one of Saurabh’s friends, Prince, informed them in the evening about the drowning. Family members rushed to the stream in Vardhman and began a search for him with the locals. The police were alerted around 7 pm, which carried on the search through the night.

An NDRF team joined the operation on Wednesday morning and recovered the body. It was sent to Nalagarh Civil Hospital for a post-mortem, the police said. Saurabh had recently cleared his class 10 exams and came to the area on vacation. Meanwhile, locals raised concerns over safety arrangements in the area, alleging a lack of regular police patrolling and instances of substance abuse by visitors.

They also claimed that syringes are often found strewn at the spot. Villagers said they have lodged several complaints with the Barotiwala Police Station and the SP’s office, yet no concrete action has been taken so far.

According to locals, a young man drowned at this very spot a few years ago.

They demanded installation of CCTV cameras, regular patrolling, and a police post in the Vardhman area.