Fire dept puts search for youth’s body on hold

Vadodara: Five days after the fire department had got an emergency call about the drowning of a student of Parul University in Narmada canal, they have put the search operations on hold. However, they have continued with the scanning process at 12-15 places.

The fire brigade on February 9, during the search operations in the canal in the TP13 area, had recovered the body of a teenager identified as Padmashankar Pandey, who had gone missing along with his friend Rutvij Patel on February 6. The fire department conducted an extensive search in the entire area and also some kilometres down but have not been able to find Patel’s body, whose two-wheeler was found on the banks of the canal.

“We have kept the search on hold for now but we are scanning around 12-15 spots at every six to eight hours,” said assistant fire officer Om Jadeja. While conducting the search, the fire officials had also found the body of a 45-year-old unidentified man.

During the search, the fire officials were also told by some local slum dwellers that they had seen two men, supposedly Pandey and Patel, and a woman. However, that information is not authentic and just a rumour, said a fire official.

The fire department had initially started search for Patel as they had found his two-wheeler on the banks of the canal. However, during the investigations it was learnt that Pandey was also with him and later his body was found.

The police have registered a case of accidental death in Pandey’s case.