Three individuals, including a boy, drowned in the Bhatasa River in Shahapur, Thane district, on Wednesday afternoon. The deceased have been identified as Vanita Sudarshan Shelke (33), a resident of WaFe village in Shahapur, and Laxmi Dattatray Patil (50) along with her son Dhiraj Dattatray Patil (16), both residents of Cherpoli village in Shahapur.
The incident occurred at the Bhatasa River around 12:30 PM on Wednesday when Laxmi and her niece Vanita, along with Laxmi's son Dhiraj, went to wash clothes and met with tragedy. Dhiraj entered the river to bathe but misjudged the depth and began drowning. Seeing him in distress, Laxmi jumped in to save him but also began to drown. Vanita, witnessing both of them struggling, jumped in to help but failed to rescue them. Tragically, all three drowned.
Local residents noticed the incident and alerted the police. Officers rushed to the scene and informed lifeguards. Within 15 minutes, authorities arrived and retrieved the bodies by 2:30 PM. The deceased were then sent to the Sub-District Hospital in Shahapur for post-mortem examinations.
Jitendra Thakur, Senior Police Inspector at Shahapur Police Station, said, "Initially, an Accidental Death Report was filed with Shahapur Police Station. Further investigation is ongoing."
