Pune: Youth’s Body Recovered Three Days After Drowning in Bhima River During Ganesh Visarjan
Talegaon Dhamdhere, 8th September 2025: After three days of relentless search operations, rescue teams on Monday recovered the body of a 30-year-old man who drowned in the Bhima River during Ganesh idol immersion at Bhimashyet near Bora Farm in Shirur taluka.
The deceased has been identified as Bhimrao Laxman Cherle, a native of Shirshi in Kandhar taluka of Nanded district, who had been residing in Bhimashyet. On September 6, Cherle entered the river for idol immersion but misjudged the depth and force of the current, which swept him away.
Fire brigade teams, police personnel, disaster management volunteers, and local residents launched an intensive search on September 6 and 7 but failed to locate him. On the morning of September 8, villagers spotted the body drifting near the Vitthalwadi barrage in Mirgavan.
Police constables Kishor Telang and Sandeep Idhate, along with PMRDA fire brigade staff, disaster response volunteers, and villagers, managed to pull the body out. The operation was conducted in the presence of Mandal Officer Ganpat Marbal, Talathi Abasaheb Ruke, Police Patil Sharad Lokhande, and Dasharath Rode.
The body was sent to Shikrapur Government Hospital for a postmortem before being handed over to the bereaved family.
Police have recorded the matter as an accidental death following a report lodged by Prabhakar Eknath Cherle, a relative of the deceased. Further investigation is being carried out by constables Telang and Idhate.
Cherle is survived by his parents, wife, a young son, and a daughter. The tragic loss during the festive immersion rituals has left the local community in deep mourning.
