A delegation of BJP headed by party state vice president and Chatra MP Sunil Kumar Singh visited Bukru village under Shregada panchayat of Balumath block where seven girls in the age group of 12 to 20 years drowned in a pond on Saturday. The BJP delegation consoled the bereaved family members. State Vice-President cum MP Sunil Singh, who was leading the delegation, expressed grief and said that this is a heart-shaking incident. “May the dead be given a place at the feet of Lord Shri Hari. The President, Prime Minister and Governor have also expressed their condolences on this incident,” said Singh.
Singh also said that BJP stands with the victim’s family in this hour of grief assuring that whenever the families of the victims need them they will be available.
Singh on the occasion also demanded a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for deceased family members. The Chatra MP targeting the State Government said, “Despite the occurrence of such a big incident in the area, neither any minister nor any officer of the state government had bothered to visit the victim’s family members, it shows the insensitivity of the government.”
After the cremation, the BJP delegation and workers along with villagers observed a silence of two minutes for the peace of the departed soul.
The delegation included former MLA Prakash Ram, District President Harekrishna Singh, Rakesh Dubey, Banshi Yadav.
Earlier, the incident occurred at Bukru village under Shregada panchayat of Balumath block when a group of 10 girls had gone to the village pond to celebrate karma puja, a tribal festival of the State.
Sources said that when two girls started drowning in the pond and shouted for help, five others jumped in to save them and also drowned. Four girls died at the spot while three others breathed their last on the way to the Balumath health centre. Among the dead were three sisters, Rekha Kumari (18), Reena Kumari (16) and Luxmi Kumari (12). The others who died were identified as Sushma Kumari (12), Pinku Kumari (18), Sunita Kumari (20) and Basanti Kumari (12). All seven girls were studying in local schools and colleges.
The Chief Minister Hemant Soren expressing shock over the incident had tweeted, “Shocked to hear about the death of seven girls due to drowning during Karma dali puja at Shregada panchayat in Latehar district. May God grant peace to the departed souls and give courage to the bereaved families to bear the loss.”
