Hill youth goes missing in Teesta

Jiten Basoor,
Photo Courtesy: Hira Chhetri

RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, Kalimpong, Oct. 5: One person went missing in the Teesta river during the immersion of a Durga idol at Tribeni yesterday. Two others were saved from drowning by other members of the immersion party and anglers. 

Police sources identified the deceased as Jiten Basoor, 23, a resident of Topkhana in Kalimpong town. Youngest of a widowed mother’s three sons, Jiten had recently joined the conservancy department of the Kalimpong municipality as an ad hoc sweeper. 

“His body is yet to be recovered. A search operation is on to trace the body,” said a source. Tribeni is about 20km from here Friends said Basoor had gone to the Teesta along with 20-odd members of the Topkhana Athletic Club that had organised the Durga Puja at a school in the 11th Mile area of the town. 

The incident happened when one of the rescued persons, Mahendra Basoor, slipped and fell into the river just after completing the immersion ceremony around noon. Jiten and a few others jumped into the river to rescue Mahendra. 

However, Jiten was swept away by the current of the river. According to Mahendra, the other rescued person was his elder brother Jiwan. 

“My brother and Jiten were among the ones to jump into the river to rescue me. While I was being pulled out of the river by friends, Jiten got caught in the current. My brother tried to rescue him, but he, too, got caught in the current. While my brother managed to hold on to the string of a fishing rod thrown by an angler and come ashore, Jiten was washed away,” he said.