Medininagar, Sep 23: Six people, including four minors, drowned in two separate incidents in Jharkhand’s Palamu district on Wednesday while participating in rituals to immerse Karam tree branches, police said.Five deaths were reported from Bokaya village, where the immersion was being carried out in the Koel River.
The sixth incident took place at Nani Jharia, where a teenager drowned in a pond.According to Palamu Superintendent of Police Kapil Choudhary, an eight-year-old boy entered deep water during the immersion ceremony at Bokaya.
Four people reportedly entered the river in an attempt to rescue him, but all five drowned.The deceased in the Bokaya incident were identified as Amit Kumar Thakur, 22, Nitish Kumar Singh, 18, Vishal Paswan, 16, Raja Singh, 12, and Hemant Kumar Singh, 8.
Police personnel recovered the bodies from the river and sent them for post-mortem examination, the SP said.In the second incident at Nani Jharia, 16-year-old Simpi Kumari reportedly slipped and fell into a pond while participating in the immersion ritual.
Local residents helped recover her body, which was later sent to Medinirai Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem.Karam is one of Jharkhand’s major tribal festivals and is traditionally marked by the worship of a branch of the Karam tree.
The festival concludes with the ceremonial immersion of the worshipped branch in a water body.Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren expressed grief over the deaths and conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims.
The incidents occurred a day after Jharkhand observed Karam, which is among the prominent tribal festivals celebrated across the state.
