Aurangabad, Sept 8:
A 21 years old girl returning from work with a friend drowned in a nullah at Mukundnagar on Tuesday at around 7.30 pm. The deceased has been identified as Rupali Dadarao Gaikwad (21, Mukundnagar, Mukundwadi).
The residents of Mukundnagar have to cross a nullah to enter the locality. Rupali and her friend Amrapali Raghunath Mashke work in a company at Shendra MIDC. Rupali was the only earning source for her family as her parents were not well. On Tuesday evening, they were going home to Mukundnagar. They had to cross the nullah, but the stone put for going from the nullah was washed away due to the heavy rain.
Still, Rupali insisted on crossing the nullah. Both the friends held each other's hand and tried to cross the nullah, but they slipped and were drowned in the flooded nullah. Amrapali, after a distance of around 200 meters, got hold of a tree and was saved, but Rupali was drowned further and met a watery grave.
The nearby residents rushed to help them and took Amrapali out of the nullah. They found Rupali around 700 meters away from the spot after a strenuous effort of about two hours. The residents of Mukundnagar had been demanding a road on the nullah for several years.
On Wednesday morning, the residents brought Rupali’s body from the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) but refused to conduct the last rites on her demanding a road. On receiving the information, Mukundwadi police station’s PI Manoj Pagare, second PI Brahma Giri, Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) officers rushed to the spot and tried to convince the residents. The AMC officers assured that the family members of the deceased girl would get the compensation as per the rule, and a road would be constructed here soon. Then the residents conducted the last rites on Rupali in the afternoon.