Body of 15-yr-old cloudburst victim found on river bank

The body of 15-year-old Murti Devi of Sharan Bihali was recovered from the banks of the Pin Parvati river near Bakshaul in Sainj valley on Saturday.

Murti was one of three family members who were swept away when an unprecedented cloudburst triggered a flashflood in the Jivah nullah on June 25. The young girl’s body was spotted by a local farmer before being safely retrieved by fellow villagers and handed over to Banjar police, who have launched an official investigation into the tragedy.

According to eyewitnesses, a villager, en route to his terraced fields, spotted what he initially believed was driftwood lodged against the embankment. As he drew closer, he realised it was Murti Devi, her small frame entwined in uprooted tree trunks. He immediately raised the alarm, and within minutes a group of men and women from Sharan Bihali village converged on the site and recovered the body.

That same cloudburst unleashed a violent swell that tore through the Jivah nullah, inundating several hamlets in Sainj Valley. The surge demolished five houses and a makeshift stall in Sharan Bihali. At the height of the deluge, Murti Devi was in the company of her 72-year-old father, Nand Lal, and her 67-year-old aunt, Yan Dasi, who had come from neighbouring Raila village to receive a dental treatment. While other residents heeded urgent evacuation requirements and sought refuge on higher ground, the three family members were swept downstream, vanishing beneath torrents of mud and debris. Grief and shock have enveloped the entire Sainj valley community.

Banjar DSP Sher Singh said search-and-rescue operations were on to find Nand Lal and Yan Dasi. “Our teams are methodically scouring every stretch of the riverbank, supported by local volunteers and the district disaster management authorities,” he said, adding that underwater sonar equipment might be deployed if visibility conditions improve.