Deogarh: In a tragic incident, a woman and her two minor sons drowned while fishing in the Rengali Dam reservoir near Taleisara village under Kundheigola police limits in Deogarh district Wednesday night while her husband had a close shave. The deceased were identifi ed as Jyotsna Penthei, wife of Bulu Penthei, and their two sons, Ayush, 6, and Riyansh, 4, of Pudadihi village under Kundheigola panchayat.
The mishap occurred when Bulu had taken his wife and children along with him for fishing in the reservoir in a country boat as usual. While casting the fishing net, a sudden gust of wind reportedly capsized the boat, plunging all four into the water.
Sources said the bodies of the two children were recovered a few hours later by Bulu. Jyotsna, however, remained untraced until Thursday morning, when her body was found entangled in a fishing net at a short distance from the mishap site. Fire personnel from Riamal and locals conducted a search operation and retrieved the body around 10 am. The bodies were sent to the Deogarh district headquarters hospital for post-mortem. Police have initiated an investigation into the deaths. Locals have urged the state government for financial assistance to the bereaved man as he is very poor. Deogarh MLA Romancha Ranjan Biswal visited the site and offered condolences to the grieving man. Sub-Collector Parikhita Sahu, the district fisheries officer, and the Riamal tehsildar also reached the scene and conducted a preliminary inquiry. The administration has announced financial assistance of Rs 15,000 from the district Red Cross fund and financial support under the Harishchandra Yojana for the last rites of the deceased persons. Further aid will be provided based on the post-mortem report, the sub-collector said.
