GUWAHATI: A youth from the city who had gone out for an outing with three friends drowned in a river at Ukiam near the Assam-Meghalaya border on Sunday afternoon, police sources said.
The body of Azanul Alam Mazumdar (25) from Sijubari in the Hatigaon area here was recovered from the river by police with the help of residents around 4.30pm.
“According to witnesses, he along with another friend were taking a dip in the river around 2pm but were caught in water current. While a resident managed to retrieve his friend with a bamboo, Azanul could not be rescued and eventually drowned,” Boko police station officer in-charge, Jogen Barman told The Shillong Times on Monday.
The other youths – Nurul Islam, Imran Ali and Mehboob Ansari – according to police sources were also from the Hatigaon area of Guwahati.
“Azanul’s body was kept at Boko police station overnight and will be taken to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital for post mortem today. We are investigating the matter,” Barman said.
Family members and friends, according to sources, made a hue and cry at the Boko police station on Monday morning for the delay in the investigation process.
Azanul’s father, Aftabuddin Mazumdar, however, had told reporters that his son could not swim but refrained from commenting further when asked whether he suspected any foul play.
Ukiam is a picnic spot bordering West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya about 25km from Chaygaon in south Kamrup.
“Generally, our personnel are on vigil during the picnic season which starts from late November to January. But since this is not the season, there are hardly any tourists. However, we have a camp nearby from where we monitor things,” the police officer said.
