Two brothers drowned while bathing in the Teesta River in the Rajpur area of Lalmonirhat Sadar on Saturday afternoon.
The deceased were identified as Sifaul Karim Sifat, 18, and Sohaeb Karim Swaccho, 13. They were the sons of Rezaul Karim Master, a resident of the Rajpur Bazar area. Both siblings were students at Lalmonirhat Cantonment Public School and College.
According to local sources, the brothers had gone to play football on a river shoal during the holiday. Following the game, they went to bathe in the Teesta River adjacent to the Rajpur Union Parishad. The tragedy occurred when the younger brother fell into deep water; the elder brother immediately jumped in to rescue him, but both were swallowed by a deep underwater cavity.
Local residents alleged that the Water Development Board had extracted sand from that specific location approximately a year ago, resulting in the formation of a 15 to 16-foot deep hole. It was in this submerged pit that the two brothers met their end.
Saad Islam, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Lalmonirhat Sadar Police Station, stated that preliminary reports indicate the brothers died from drowning. He added that an investigation into the incident is currently underway.
