DHARMANAGAR: A 23-year-old man died on Wednesday morning after allegedly falling into the Juri River, which flows beside his residence, while attending to nature’s call, plunging the area into grief.
The deceased was identified as Shubham Debnath, a resident of the locality adjacent to Gorakhnath Temple in Padmapur, Dharmanagar, North District. According to family sources, Debnath had reportedly been suffering from epilepsy for a long time and did not know how to swim.
Preliminary information suggests he accidentally fell into the river while on the riverbank near his home on Wednesday morning. On noticing the incident, family members and local residents alerted the Dharmanagar Fire Department.
A joint rescue team comprising the fire brigade, Civil Defence, and Aapda Mitra personnel reached the spot and retrieved Debnath from the river before rushing him to Dharmanagar District Hospital. However, doctors on duty declared him dead on arrival.
Officials noted that continuous heavy rainfall since Tuesday night had significantly raised the water level and current of the Juri River, which may have contributed to the incident. Despite prompt rescue efforts, his life could not be saved.
Debnath’s untimely death has left his family and the wider community in deep mourning.