Mallika Dureja
Sunday morning in Haridwar, a student from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee drowned in the river Ganga, according to officials.
The deceased has been identified as Siddharth Gehlot (21), a student of electrical engineering from the Nagaur district of Rajasthan. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) conducted a rescue and search operation and extracted his body from the river using a team of deep divers.
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Sunday morning, according to witnesses, Siddharth and four other students arrived at Ganga ghat. As he was taking a dip at Namami Gange ghat, he strayed a short distance beyond the ghat’s stairs and drowned in the river.
According to Siddharth’s classmates, no one else knew how to swim, and he presumably could not measure the depth and velocity of the water, authorities added.
The body of Siddharth Gehlot was retrieved by members from the SDRF. Students told authorities of the drowning incident. His parents in Rajasthan have been made aware of the situation. They are en route to Haridwar, according to Vinod Thapliyal, station house officer (SHO) of the Shyampur police station.
