Bhubaneswar/Rourkela, March 4 At least six people, including four minors, drowned while taking a bath after celebrating Holi at separate locations in Odisha on Wednesday, police said.
Two such incidents occurred in the Jajpur and Sundergarh districts, while one each occurred in the Cuttack and Keonjhar districts.
A report from the Kutra area of Sundergarh district stated that two minors drowned in a pond near the Litibeda village. They were identified as Abhijit Toppo (6) and his seven-year-old cousin, Jisam Toppo, who had gone for a bath after playing Holi.
Police said their bodies were found floating in the pond when family members began searching for the children.
Similarly, Sangram Ajitabh Das and Hiranya Kumar Behuria, residents of Jajpur Road and Bari areas, respectively, drowned while bathing in separate rivers in the Jajpur district, police said.
A report from the Cuttack district stated that a boy, identified as Jeevan Behera, drowned while bathing in the Mahanadi river in the Baramba area along with friends. He was swept away by the river current, police said.
Fire Service personnel found the minor and took him to a hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival, police said.
In another similar incident in the Jhumpura area of the Keonjhar district, a seven-year-old, Anku Gop, drowned while taking a bath after playing Holi. The child, who came from the Sijukala village, was visiting his maternal uncle's house.
