College student drowns at Aksa

MUMBAI: An 18-year-old collegian who had gone for a swim to the Aksa beach in Malad with his friends on Monday morning is yet to be traced. Nidhish Shetty had entered the water with a group of 12 friends. While the others stayed close to the shore, Nidhish and two of his friends ventured deeper. Lifeguards managed to pull out Nidhish’s two friends, but he couldn’t be found till late on Monday.
Nidhish was in his first year of BMS at Thakur College in Kandivli. He stayed with his parents and older brother at Thakur Complex, Kandivli.
Around 9am on Monday, Nidhish reached college for the morning lectures. He and 12 other students, including seven girls, then decided to bunk a few lectures and go for a picnic to Aksa. After spending some time on the beach, the youngsters went for a swim around 10.30am. According to civic officials, lifeguards present at the beach had warned the teens not to enter the water, but they ignored the warning.
“Owing to rain and high tide, the sea was violent. The collegians soon realized that some of them were getting pulled into the water. Most of them managed to swim back to the shore safely. Lifeguards pulled out two of Nidhish’s friends who had ventured deeper. But Nidhish couldn’t be traced,” a senior police official said.
The students then informed the Malwani police and the fire brigade personnel. “We have roped in the coast guard and fishermen as well to help us in the search operation. The tide has been making it difficult for us to search for Nidhish. His parents have been informed,” the official said.
Sources said there are several signboards put up on the beach which state that swimming is strictly prohibited, particularly at a few dangerous locations. Nidhish and his friends entered the water at one such dangerous location. “The sea bed at this location has a slope and this makes swimmers more vulnerable to drowning,” a local said.
Nidhish’s family is in shock after learning of the incident. “Nidhish had told his parents that he was going to college when he left home in the morning. His family is unable to accept that he ventured deep into the water at Aksa and is now missing,” a police official said.
The Malwani police tried to speak to Nidhish’s father, Ratnakar. But the 45-year-old kept repeating how come his son had ended up at the beach, when he had said that he was going to college.
When The Times of India spoke to lifeguards at the Aksa beach, they said they had been tipped off late about Nidhish’s disappearance. “It was nearly 15 minutes after we pulled out two of Nidhish’s friends who had ventured deeper that the students told us about Nidhish having vanished,” one of the lifeguards said.