Two booked for culpable homicide over drowning of 3 teenagers in Sarkhej lake

The Sarkhej police have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder after three youths drowned in Shakri Lake earlier this month when an unsecured boat, allegedly left by a civic contractor, capsized.

According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed by Police Inspector S A Gohil of Sarkhej police station, Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) had engaged contractor Dineshbhai Patel, a resident of Behrampura, to clean floating garbage and silt from Shakri Lake. For the past year and a half, the lake has been undergoing improvement works and is choked with stagnant water and debris.

The FIR states that Patel allegedly left a cleaning boat on the lake ramp without securing it, despite being aware that it posed a danger if accessed by the public. On the evening of September 2, four local boys took the unattended boat into the lake. A video clip, which later circulated on social media, shows the group venturing into deep water.

The boys were identified as Vishal Solanki (23), Pradeep alias Pappu Chavda (19), Jeet alias Radhe Parmar (15) and Keshav alias Kalu alias Rakesh Gohil, all residents of Gayatri Nagar in Sarkhej.

Investigators said that while in mid-lake, Keshav allegedly rocked the boat “recklessly and carelessly”, placing his hands on one side and his feet on the other to tilt it forcefully. “Knowing that his actions could cause the boat to fill with water and capsize, endangering the lives of those aboard, he pushed it hard, causing it to overturn,” the FIR notes.

Keshav swam to safety, but Vishal, Pradeep and Jeet drowned. Their bodies were later recovered and sent to Sola Civil Hospital for post-mortem examination before being handed over to relatives.

Police said that despite repeated verbal and written requests, the victims’ families initially declined to file a complaint. After a preliminary inquiry and on the basis of video evidence, a case has now been registered against contractor Dineshbhai Patel and Keshav Gohil under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (equivalent to culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) for negligence.

Inspector Gohil confirmed the FIR, stating further investigation is on in the case.