Jammu, Nov 25: Police in Kathua’s Bilawar sub-division on Friday said it recovered the bodies of three teenagers who reportedly drowned in a local river.
SDPO Bilawar, Arvind Kumar told Rising Kashmir that the bodies of the teens were recovered from the bank of Bhini Nallah in Bilawar area.
Quoting the family members and school staff of the deceased, he said, “We have been told during the investigation that three 11th-class students of Government Higher Secondary School Bilawar didn’t reach their school on Thursday morning.”
By Thursday evening, when they didn’t reach their homes on time, the family members of the deceased students initiated searches in and around the village, he said.
“On Friday morning, some passer-by noticed the bags of the teenagers lying on the bank of the river and informed the police. Accordingly, a search operation was launched and the bodies of the teens were recovered from Bhini Nallah with the help of professional divers,” the police officer said.
Police have identified the deceased as Sheetal Kumar (18), son of Jeet Kumar, Pankaj Sharma (17), son of Romesh Chander, and Pankaj Sharma (17), son of Romesh Chander, all residents of Badola, Baggan village, Bilawar.
After completing the legal formalities, police have shifted the bodies to SDH Bilawar for conducting the post-mortem.
A Board of Doctors (BoDs) has also been constituted to ascertain the actual cause of the death.
Meanwhile, police have launched inquest proceedings under section 174 of the CrPC and taken up further investigation into the case, the officer said.
