‘He loved going out with friends’: 4 families in mourning after swim in Yamuna takes tragic turn

Police said a PCR call was received at Burari police station around 1.20 am on Friday, stating that four youths did not return home in the evening and were missing. Police said divers began search and rescue operations on Friday morning and three bodies were recovered.

DCP (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi said, “It was found that around noon on Thursday, four people aged 14-20 had come from Loni to swim in the river Yamuna at Thokar no.7 in Burari’s Sonia Pushta area. At present, it seems that the three victims drowned due to the force and size of the river in the area. Things will be clearer after the medical examination of the deceased is complete.”

The DCP added that a bike and some clothes were recovered from the banks of the river.

Explaining the delay in informing police, Ilyas’s uncle Mohammad Nasir said, “… We only found out what happened at night. Batla said that the river was calm at first, but the flow increased suddenly. He managed to swim out, but not the other boys.”
“Ilyas had finished Class 12 and was thinking about what to study in college. He was very quiet and studious… he was always seen reading and studying,” he added.

Haider, a tailor, remembers his son as an enthusiastic child: “He had recently finished his Class 10 exams. He loved going out with his friends.” He said his son had wanted to work in the IT sector and attended computer classes in the morning.

Kamal’s brother Sagar said that he wanted to be a body builder: “He was very fitness-conscious.”

Relatives said the incident has left them confused. “As far as we know, they never usually went swimming together, that too in the Yamuna,” Nasir said.

Haider added, “Sameer has still not been found. His family has no confirmation on where he is.”