Malay Ghatak's elder brother feared drowned

Kolkata: Elder brother of the state Labour minister Malay Ghatak is feared to have drowned in river Damodar while offering tarpan on the day of Mahalaya.

The incident took place at a ghat near Bhutaburi Temple Hirapur in Asansol at around 2.45 pm on Tuesday.

The victim, Asim Ghatak, went to river Damodar along with his cousin Biren Mukherjee to offer tarpan.

After all rituals, he went to take a bath when he had failed to control his balance due to the water current and fell into the river.

Biren, who witnessed the incident, said that he had asked the victim not to go too far into the river to take a bath.

"But he went a bit far saying that nothing would happen and fell into the river as he couldn't control his balance. I attempted to save him. But the effort was of no use as the current was high," he said, adding that some local people were also present at the ghat when the incident took place.

They informed others in the area. Subsequently, thousands of people started gathering on the river bank.

Firefighters and officers of the Disaster Management Group were pressed and they initiated the work to find out the elder brother of the state's Labour minister.

The search operation

continued for long hours till night. Divers have also been engaged. But they are yet to find him out.

Meanwhile, two more incidents of drowning while offering tarpan took place at Kalna and Katwa in East Burdwan.

A middle-aged man Sanjib Kabi drowned while offering tarpan at Debraj Ghat in Katwa while a youth drowned in Kalna.

DMG officers have also been pressed at these two points to find out the two others who had also fallen into the river while offering tarpan.