Uttar Pradesh: IIT Kanpur student dies after drowning in river Ganga

Representative image. Pic/Istock

A civil engineering student from IIT Kanpur died after drowning in the river Ganga on Sunday morning, police said. The deceased was identified as Chanchal Kumar Meena, a native of Jhunjhunu Rajasthan.

Assistant Commissioner for Police Kernalganj Tirpurari Pandey said, "Two students of IIT Kanpur had drowned while taking bath in river Ganga. One of them was saved, while the other one drowned."

The duo, according to the officer, was part of a group of 10 IIT students who had come early morning to take bath in the river.

speaking about the incident, IIT Kanpur in a press statement said, "Today morning, a group of students from the Institute went to the Atal Ghat at the Ganga Barrage. A few students took a bath in the Ganga river. Chanchal Kumar, a Civil Engineering BTech student, drowned in the river at around 7 a.m."

The city police immediately dispatched a group of professional divers and took charge of the search and rescue operation, it read.

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The body was pulled out from the river and taken to a hospital where doctors declared him dead.

"Chanchal Kumar's parents and relatives have been informed of the tragedy and are on their way to Kanpur. The Institute mourns the untimely loss of a bright young mind and prays that God gives his family and friends the strength to bear this loss," the statement added.

(with inputs from PTI)