Alwar: A Rakshabandhan celebration turned tragic Sunday when four young members of a family, including three siblings and their cousin, drowned while bathing in a pond near Hiraman Baba Temple in Birja village of Dholpur district.Police identified the deceased as Ravi Kumar (21), his sisters Manorama (22) and Boto (25), and cousin Nisha (18), all residents of Nathuapura village. The family had arrived at the temple late Saturday night to attend an overnight religious programme on the occasion of Rakshabandhan.Angai station house officer Kripal Singh said the four were among a group of several devotees that went for a dip in the nearby pond around 4am Sunday.Ravi found himself in deep waters soon after entering the pond and started going under, Singh said. Seeing his plight, his two sisters and cousin, who were bathing near the bank, jumped in to try and save him, but were pulled under as well, he added.Local villagers launched a rescue operation soon after and managed to recover the bodies of the three women in the first few hours. Ravi’s body was pulled out almost six hours later at 10am, police said.All four bodies were shifted to the nearby Sarmathura Community Health Centre for post-mortem and later handed over to family members.Eyewitnesses said at least four other devotees who found themselves in trouble after entering the pond for a bath were also rescued.
