2 teenagers drown in pond near Katraj, bodies found

Pune: Two teenagers on Tuesday evening drowned in a small pond at Bhilarewadi near Katraj, where they had gone to swim with a friend.

The personnel of the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA)’s fire brigade and Bharati Vidyapeeth police rushed to the spot after receiving an emergency call around 4pm. After a three-hour long search, they recovered the bodies of the boys from the pond. The duo’s friend did not wade into water.

The PMRDA fire brigade chief, Vijay Mahajan, said, “The deceased boys have been identified as Vivek Deepak Kadam (15) and Tushar Shantaram Bhangre (16), both residents of Bhilarewadi.”

The accident occurred when the other boy, Karan Jadhav (17), went for a walk towards the forest area.

The small pond is located amid the hills at Katraj. The three boys had trekked to the pond. Mahajan said one of them wanted to swim, and so they had trekked to the pond.

“Bhangre waded into water, while Kadam sat on the banks of the pond. When Bhangre started drowning, Kadam made attempts to save him and went into the deep water. When Jadhav came back near the pond, his friends had disappeared. He then raised an alarm,” Mahajan said.

Both the deceased boys had gone to the school earlier in the day. They decided to visit the pond after reaching home, police said. The parents of the duo worked in private establishments in the area and stayed in rented accommodations, said inspector Vishnu Tamhane of the Bharati Vidyapeeth police.