Hazaribag: Three minor boys drowned while bathing in Tadgu river at Ghurandih village in Chatra district on Friday, police said.The deceased were identified as Ansh Prakash, 15, Prince Kumar, 14, and Satyam Kumar, 15.Police said the boys had gone to the riverbank on Friday morning for a picnic. They prepared and ate pasta before entering the river for a bath. They reportedly ventured into deep water and drowned.Residents spotted a body floating in the river and alerted police. A police team reached the spot and recovered a second body with the help of villagers. Satyam’s body was recovered later in the evening following a search operation.Two bicycles, three pairs of slippers, school bags and other articles were found on the riverbank. The recovery of three pairs of slippers had initially raised fears that a third boy might have drowned, though police were probing whether he had fled the spot in panic.Sadar SDPO Sunny Vardhan said the bodies were sent to Chatra Sadar Hospital for postmortem examination and subsequently handed over to their families.Following the incident, Sadar police detained two other minors for questioning to ascertain how the children reached the river and determine the number of boys present at the spot.Sadar police station officer in-charge Anil Oraon said an investigation had been launched to establish the circumstances leading to the tragedy.
