PALGHAR: A reel-making outing during the ongoing Ganeshotsav holiday took a fatal turn for two teenage friends in Wada, Palghar district, after they jumped into the flowing waters of the Vaitarna River while one of their friends filmed them on his mobile phone on Wednesday afternoon. The bodies of the two boys were recovered on Thursday afternoon, police said.
The deceased were identified as Gitesh Parikshit Patil, 16, and Manav Rathod, 15. Their friend, Amey Bipin Jadhav, 15, who was recording the video, survived.
According to the police, the three boys, who were school friends and neighbours residing in Vivek Nagar in Wada, had gone out to make reels on September 16, taking advantage of the school holidays for Ganeshotsav.
The trio had first visited the Tilseshwar locality near Wada, along the banks of the Vaitarna River, in the morning to shoot reels. After making a few videos, they returned home in the afternoon.
At around 3 pm, the boys stepped out again to make more reels and travelled to Nadipada near Umrothe village, located along the Pinjal River. Around 4 pm, while they were filming, Gitesh Patil reportedly jumped into the flowing river water, followed by Manav Rathod. Amey Jadhav was recording the two boys on his mobile phone.
However, Patil and Rathod misjudged the depth of the water and drowned. When neither of them resurfaced for a long time, Jadhav panicked and returned home. He later went to stay with relatives residing a few kilometres away from his home but did not inform anyone about the incident, police said. Meanwhile, the parents of the missing boys began asking Amey about their whereabouts. Locals eventually learnt about the suspected drowning and launched a search along the riverbank. However, darkness hampered the operation, and the boys could not be located that night.
{{/usCountry}}However, Patil and Rathod misjudged the depth of the water and drowned. When neither of them resurfaced for a long time, Jadhav panicked and returned home. He later went to stay with relatives residing a few kilometres away from his home but did not inform anyone about the incident, police said. Meanwhile, the parents of the missing boys began asking Amey about their whereabouts. Locals eventually learnt about the suspected drowning and launched a search along the riverbank. However, darkness hampered the operation, and the boys could not be located that night.
{{/usCountry}}The search resumed on Thursday morning. Gitesh Patil’s body was found in the water first, followed by the recovery of Manav Rathod’s body late in the afternoon, police said.
Ramesh Patil, a social activist, said Gitesh’s family resided in Thane, where he was studying in Class 11 at a college. He is survived by his parents and a younger brother. The family had travelled to their native place in Wada two days before the incident to celebrate Ganeshotsav.
Manav Rathod was studying in Class 10 at PJ High School in Wada. His father works with the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) in Wada, and he has another son.
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