Maha: 2 drown after crossing river to avoid lockdown checkpost

Chandrapur, May 13 () Two persons who travelled byboat here from a neighbouring district in Maharashtra to avoidbeing caught by police during the lockdown drowned in a riveron their return journey, an official said on Wednesday.

The deceased, Padmnath Madavi (40), a school teacher,and his friend Sanjay Uike (38), were residents ofneighbouring Gadchiroli district, located around 80 km fromhere, a police official said.

They came for some personal work to Kharkada villagein Chandrapur's Brahmapuri tehsil via the Wainganga riverroute by boat to avoid getting noticed by police at thecheckpost in the wake of the coronavirus-enforced lockdown, hesaid.

On Tuesday evening, while the two men were on theirway back to Gadchiroli, they stopped at the river bed to takea bath. However, both of them slipped into deep water anddrowned, the official said.

The bodies were later fished out by expert swimmers,he said, adding that a case of accidental death wasregistered. CORGK GK