PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ New Tehri
The body of a five-year-old boy, resident of Khirbel village under Balganga tehsil, who had gone missing on Friday, was found from a rivulet about a kilometre and a half from the village on Saturday morning. The deceased was identified as Ayansh. It is suspected he was swept away by strong currents of the stream swollen by incessant rain.
The family members said that the boy had left home at around 4 PM when his mother was resting. Shortly after he had left, heavy rain, accompanied by a thunderstorm, lashed the village. When he did not return for a long time, his family members along with the villagers began searching for him.
Upon receiving the information, teams from the Revenue department, police, SDRF and Forest department arrived at the scene. A joint search operation continued until late Friday night, but no trace of the boy was found. Police said that instead of returning home, the boy was suspected to have headed towards the stream, while it was raining, and was swept away by the strong currents of the rivulet.
The search operation resumed on Saturday morning and at around 12 noon, Ayansh’s body was recovered, stuck in mud in the stream.
