Unnao: Govt officer drowns in Ganga as divers delay rescue over Rs 10,000 demand via cash or UPI

A search operation continued on Sunday to locate Aditya Vardhan Singh, the deputy director of the UP health department, who was swept away by strong currents in the Ganga while bathing at Nanamau Ghat in Bilhaur of Unnao on Saturday afternoon, TOI reported.

According to police, Singh, who was 45 and knew how to swim, had moved towards deeper waters to get a photo clicked by his friends when he got trapped in a strong current and went missing.

Aditya Vardhan Singh resided in Indiranagar, Lucknow, and was posted in Varanasi.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that Aditya wanted to be photographed by his friends while offering ‘arghya’ to the sun god. He crossed the warning mark. He knew how to swim, but apparently got trapped in a strong current,” stated DCP (West) Rajesh Kumar Singh.

Singh’s friends alleged that they had requested private divers at the ghat to save him but were asked to pay Rs 10,000. Upon explaining that they didn’t have cash, the divers allegedly demanded online payment. By the time the money was transferred, it was too late.

“We resumed the search Sunday morning, but we have not been successful in locating Aditya so far,” said Bilhaur ACP Ajay Kumar Trivedi. Teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), flood unit, police, and private divers are all engaged in the search efforts.Regarding the allegations against the divers, DCP Singh mentioned, “If there is any truth in the allegations, we will take legal action against the divers.” However, the divers claimed that they asked money only for fuel for their steamers.Meanwhile, in another case, a man drowned while trying to rescue devotees who fell into a river after a boat carrying them to a temple sank in Botad district of Gujarat on Monday.

The boat was carrying four devotees to Belnath Mahadev temple located on the banks of the Kalubhar river near Khijadiya village.

(With TOI and PTI inputs)

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