44-year-old man drowns in Old Digha

Kolkata: A person has reportedly drowned while bathing in the sea at Digha on Friday afternoon. He was rescued by the 'nuliahs' and rushed to Digha State General Hospital (DSGH) where the attending doctor declared him brought dead.

According to sources, one Shankar Deb, aged around 44 years, had gone to Digha with his family on Thursday. He had rented a room at a hotel located in New Digha. On Friday afternoon, he went to Old Digha along with his wife and five-year-old daughter Atrika. There, he consumed alcohol and went to Ghat number 1 to bathe in the sea.

When he was walking towards the sea with his daughter on his shoulder, his wife tried to stop him as he was not able to walk straight since he was in an inebriated state. But Shankar did not bother to listen. When he reached near the water, some 'nuliahs' and civic volunteers saw him and asked him not to venture into the sea.

They tried to reach Shankar but before they could get to him, he reportedly went into the water with Atrika. Just after that, a huge wave came and landed on both. As the force of the wave was very strong, both Shankar and Atrika were beginning to get washed away.

Seeing them drowning, the 'nuliahs' ran to their rescue. To save his daughter, Shankar threw Atrika towards the 'nuliahs' who got hold of her. Just after saving his daughter, the 'nuliahs' went in the water with safety measures to save Shankar.

After a few minutes, Shankar was rescued and taken to the DSGH where he was declared brought dead by the doctor. An Unnatural Death (UD) case has been lodged. It is not clear whether Shankar had died due to excessive consumption of alcohol or by drowning. To identify the cause, sleuths are waiting for the autopsy report.

According to police sources, despite repeated requests and warnings, Shankar did not bother to listen to either his wife or the security persons and ventured into the sea in an inebriated state that proved very risky and he ended up paying with his life.