Celebratory swim turns fatal for Ponda duo

Ponda: Two youths from Ponda, who were on a family picnic at Ganjem-Usgao on Friday evening to celebrate Holi, drowned when they ventured into an unfamiliar stream in the vicinity for a swim. Both youths were the only sons of their respective parents.

Ponda police said that Prakash Shankarappa Hadpad and Sharanappa Sangappa Hadpad, both 20-year-olds, were natives of Karnataka who had settled with their families at Ponda’s Khadapabandh ward.

On Friday afternoon, the youths travelled to Gonir, Ganjem, along with Prakash’s parents to mark Holi. However, soon after they ventured into the stream, Sharanappa began struggling. Prakash rushed to his aid, but both started drowning. Hearing the distraught parents’ cries, local residents rushed to the site and brought both youths out of the water in an unconscious condition. They were taken to the Dharbandora primary health centre at Piliem, where they were declared ‘brought dead’.

Both bodies have been preserved at the South Goa District Hospital, Margao, for autopsy.

A case of unnatural deaths has been registered at Ponda police station under BNSS, 2023.