3 schoolgirls drown in Una rivulet

Three schoolgirls, including two sisters, drowned in a rivulet in Balh panchayat of Bangana subdivision in Una district on Thursday. The deceased have been identified as Khushi, daughter of Manjeet; Komal and Sonakshi, daughters of Ajay Kumar.

According to police, the girls had gone to the rivulet to wash their school bags when one of them slipped into the water. The other two tried to rescue her but also drowned in the rivulet.

When the girls did not return home by evening, their families began searching for them. The villagers later spotted slippers near the rivulet and saw two bodies floating in the water. All three were pulled out from the water later in the evening and rushed to Adarsh Hospital at Thana Kalan, where the doctors declared them brought dead.

The local police officials said that the bodies of the girls have been handed over to the family members for cremation after the post mortem examination was conducted on Friday. Inquest proceedings have been initiated into the incident by the police.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri have expressed grief over the incident and conveyed condolences to the bereaved families.

The villagers have demanded that the administration put in place safety measures at dangerous points of the rivulet to prevent such incidents in the future.