No More Bodies Found, Parents Told to Return Home

Since there is no breakthrough in fishing out bodies from Beas river even though site-scan sonar and remote-sensing technology were used by rescue teams, the Mandi district administration, police officials and the Telangana home minister who are camping in Mandi today requested parents to leave for their native places.  A review meeting was held by the Mandi district administration with police officials, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana representatives and parents after the rescue teams could not trace bodies in the river on Sunday. Mandi district superintendent of police RS Negi told Express over phone that they had taken a decision to continue search operation. The police officials and Telangana home minister Nayini Narasimha Reddy have requested the parents of 16 students, whose bodies are yet to be traced, to leave Mandi after leaving their contact addresses, email IDs and phone numbers with the officials. ‘’Many parents, who have been camping here since the students went missing, have decided to leave for their native places. As we decided to continue the search operations, we will get in touch with parents if rescue teams fish out bodies from the river,” Negi said, adding that no one had forced the parents to leave the place. ‘’If the parents want to stay here, they can do so and the local administration would provide them accommodation,’’ he added. The side-scan sonar and remote- sensing technology that were brought from the Navy in Delhi and Visakhapatnam could not give fruitful results. ‘’We requested the management of VNR Vignan Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology in Hyderabad to keep two representatives in Mandi to coordinate with the Mandi police and the parents of victims by passing information if bodies are fished out in future. Some of the parents have already left the place and the remaining will leave by Monday,” Negi said. Hours after Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh’s statement that the drowning of 24 Telugu students in Beas River was not caused by the negligence on the part of Larji dam authorities, Negi said they would, however, continue with their probe. ‘’I do not know what the chief minister has said but we will go ahead by questioning students who visited the place as part of investigation,” the SP said.

By Moule Mareedu

moulimareedu@gmail.com