JOWAI: Two boys, who had rowed the ill-fated boat that capsized on the Umngot river at Shnongpdeng, Dawki, resulting in the death of Rituraj Phukan, son of former Assam MLA Pranati Phukan, managed to escape without helping two others who were holding on to the boat, but the courageous act of three girls – all sisters from the same family – saved two friends of late Rituraj from sure death.
Rituraj along with two of his friends had come to Shnongpdeng on Friday evening and on Saturday early morning at around 5:30 AM he was drowned in the river while his friends and two local boys escaped.
The girls who saved the lives of the two friends were identified as Nikel Syngkrem (25), Kynshon Syngkrem (18) and Crusade Syngkrem (17), all residents of Shnongpdeng village under Amlarem Sub-division in West Jaintia Hills.
According to Ialam Syngkrem, VDP secretary of the village, and other village elders, the three girls had gone to a jungle to collect betel nuts and while returning home on boat, they saw Phukan’s friends Rishabh Goswami and Abigail Kharbithai holding on to the capsized boat fighting for their lives.
“We saw them hanging on to the boat which was upside down. We all rushed and rescued them,” said the elder sister Nikel Syngkrem.
There were two local boys – 12 and 13 years of age – who were rowing the boat when the incident took place.
“We were shocked to see that both the boys had escaped. How the boys escaped without helping the victims in such a situation is unbelievable,” said Ialam Syngkrem.
Meanwhile, the Dorbar Shnong Shnongpdeng on Sunday condoled the death of Rituraj Phukan who had come to visit the village as a tourist.
It is also learnt that the Dorbar Shnong held an emergency meeting in the evening and discussed the Umngot incident.
This is the second such incident that has occurred on the Umngot at Shnongpdeng.
In October last year, a person hailing from Beltola in Assam had come to the village and had drowned in the Umngot.
