Five of family drown in Bhakra

Anandpur Sahib : Five members of a family reportedly drowned in the Bhakra canal near here. The victims have been identified as Rajpal (33), his wife Charno Devi (28), and children Rishu (8), Manu (4) and Harpreet (infant) of Dhanera village. They had left for Himachal Pradesh in a pick-up van on September 28. The body of Rajpal was retrieved along with the vehicle this afternoon.
Ratan Dhanera, a cousin of Rajpal, said the family had left for Lakhno village in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday morning to meet Rajpal’s sister.
They, however, could not reach Lakhno, following which their relatives started searching for them. Their mobile phones were also found switched off.
This morning, their relatives learnt about an accident on the banks of the Bhakra canal near Jhinjri village in Anandpur Sahib, following which they informed the police.
Anandpur Sahib DSP Raminder Kahlon said the pick-up van was recovered from the canal with the help of divers. He said the body of Rajpal was found stuck in the van, while the fate of other family members was not known. The reason of the accident was yet to be ascertained, the DSP said, adding that further investigations are on.