Dumka: Two students drowned at a check dam on the Dhobai river in Dumka’s Hansdiha area on Sunday after one entered the water to film a reel and the other jumped in to rescue him.The victims were identified as Raman Mandal, 16, a Class X student from Hathgarh village, and Umesh Kumar, 15, a Class IX student from Tetaria. Both studied at a high school in Hansdiha. They were the only children of their parents.Police said the boys had gone to the check dam with a group of friends. Umesh entered the river to film a reel but strayed into a deeper section and was caught in a strong current. Raman jumped in after seeing him struggle, but he too was swept away.Their friends raised an alarm, following which locals informed police. Circle officer Rahul Kumar Shanu and Hansdiha police station officer in-charge Ajit Yadav reached the spot and launched a search with the help of local swimmers.The bodies were recovered around dusk after a nearly four-hour operation. “We appeal to youngsters not to enter deep or fast-flowing water bodies, particularly while making videos or reels,” Shanu said.The families took the bodies home without autopsies. “Despite repeated persuasion, the parents refused to allow postmortem examination,” Yadav said.
