Two girls drown at Jabalpur picnic spot

Jabalpur: A picnic outing turned tragic for four class 9 students when two of them drowned at the Bhadbhada picnic spot on Tuesday. The victims, identified as Shruti Yadav and Devanshi Kori, were students of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Khamaria.According to police, the four friends — Shruti, Devanshi, Pratigya Thakur, and Ayushi Sonvare — left home saying they were going to school but went to the picnic spot instead. While strolling near the waterfall in the evening, Shruti and Devanshi reportedly slipped and fell into deep water. Pratigya and Ayushi, who were walking nearby, did not immediately notice the incident and later returned home out of fear when their friends did not reappear.When Shruti and Devanshi did not return home by nightfall, their families began searching for them. After learning from their friends that they had gone to Bhadbhada, the families informed Ranjhi police, who launched a search operation late Tuesday night.On Wednesday morning, divers began combing the area. Around 11:30 am, Shruti's body was found stuck between rocks, while Devanshi's body was recovered about an hour and a half later.Sub-Inspector Mayank Yadav of Ranjhi police station said a probe is underway to ascertain whether the drowning was purely accidental or if any other circumstances were involved. He added that the two surviving girls are in shock and not in a condition to give statements.