Kanpur: Four people, including three members of the same family, were feared to have drowned while bathing in the Ganga at Panchal Ghat in Farrukhabad early Monday.The four — Vikas Saxena (22), his cousin Kamal (23), his nephew Yogesh (16), and Arjun Prajapati — went missing after allegedly crossing the barricades and entering deep waters. A search operation by police, local divers and an NDRF team was underway.The group had arrived in Farrukhabad late Sunday from Khudaganj village in Shahjahanpur. Around 4:30 am on Monday, all 10 members of the group reached Panchal Ghat to bathe and collect water. Vikas, Kamal, Yogesh, Arjun and one other person entered the Ganga.According to reports, they crossed the barricades put up by the authorities and ventured into deeper waters. Policemen deployed at the ghat tried to stop them, but their warnings went unheeded. Shortly afterwards, Vikas, Kamal, Yogesh and Arjun began to drown.On hearing their cries for help, panic spread at the ghat. Their companions alerted the police, following which divers and an NDRF team were called in. Police, NDRF personnel and local divers launched a search operation.Superintendent of Police Aarti Singh, ASP Girish Kumar Singh, CO City Abhay Verma and Qadri Gate police station in-charge Kapil Chaudhary reached the spot and reviewed the relief and rescue operation. Till evening, no trace of the four youths had been found, and the search continued.Pramod, Yogesh’s father, said his son was a Class 10 student and had come to the Ganga with his uncles Vikas and Kamal. Around 10 people from the family and village were part of the group.Family members said Vikas, the youngest of six brothers, had studied up to Class 12 and was currently pursuing ITI. Vikas, Kamal and Arjun used to run a pani-batashe cart in the village.
