Migrant couple seeking to return home to UP drowns in Mutha canal

They had jumped into the water to save their 7-yr-old son who was drawn away by strong current; while the boy survived, mother’s body was recovered later; search on for father

Just days before they were to leave for their native place in Uttar Pradesh (UP), a couple, residing at Kunjirwadi village in Loni Kalbhor, was swept away by the current in the Mutha canal, as they tried to rescue their 7-year-old son who was sucked into the waters. The body of the woman was recovered, but her husband is still missing. The cops along with the villagers conducted the last rites of the woman, while the couple’s orphaned children have been sent to their maternal grandmother in UP.

Ashok Kashyap (40), his wife Soni (38) and their four children came to Pune only last year. The couple has since been working at a nursery at Loni Kalbhor. Ashok’s mother also lives in the village but separately.

On Monday, the couple with their four kids, Raj (11), Rajani (9), Ranjit (7) and Nisu (6), had gone to the bank of the canal. While the couple was sitting on the edge of the waterbody, the children were playing nearby, when Ranjit jumped into the canal and was dragged away by a strong current. Though she had no swimming skills, Soni reacted by jumping into the water to retrieve her son. Subsequently, Ashok too jumped in to rescue his wife and son.

Meanwhile, the other children kept shouting for help, drawing the attention of local residents. They rushed to the spot and managed to pull out Ranjit. Later they fished out Soni’s body, but Ashok could not be traced. Alerted of the incident, a team of Pune rural police and the fire brigade officials too reached the spot. Soni was taken to a hospital, where she was declared dead. Search for Ashok continues.

“The nursery shut down in Marchend pursuant to the lockdown. Three days prior the incident, Ashok had registered his family with the local authorities, seeking help to get back to their native place in UP,” informed Suraj Bandgar, senior police inspector at Loni Kalbhor police station. He added that a case of accidental deaths has been registered. “We’ve also informed our Yavat and Bhigwan divisions to keep up the search for Ashok,” he said.

In the wake of the tragedy, with the relatives of the children, including their paternal grandmother, not coming forward to help, the local police patil, Milind Kunjir along with other villagers – Mahesh Kunjir, Amol Khedekar and Atul Javalkar – took the children under their wings, while also performing Soni’s last rites.

“The couple hailed from Hardoi district in UP. They’d come to Pune with two other families. But given the fear of the pandemic, the two families refused to take charge of the children. After informing Soni’s parents back in her village, we conducted the funeral,” explained Milind Kunjir.

The accident left the people of Kunjirwadi rather shaken. The villagers took care of the children, accommodating them in a school. “We almost adopted them and were open to keeping them here. However, Soni’s mother insisted they be sent to her, so we packed them off with a neighbouring family. They took a train on Tuesday afternoon. We provided them clothes, food and grocery to cover them for three months,” Milind Kunjir added.