Two men from Behala who had gone to visit a friend at his Nainan residence in Ramnagar in DiamondHarbour, around 50km from their home, reportedly drowned in the Hooghly on Saturday afternoon.
Police said Aritra Basu, in his 20s, and Shanu Prasad, in his early 30s, whose bodies were recovered after a three-hour search, could not swim.
“We were informed that two men had drowned while bathing in the river on Saturday afternoon. Another man, whose house the victims had visited, was drowning, too, but was saved,” said an officer at Ramnagar police station in the Diamond Harbour police district.
An officer who visited the spot said the men could have slipped off boulders along the river or misjudged the depth of the water.
A few fishermen helped in the search as the bodies of Basu and Prasadhad been far washed away from the bank, making it difficult for the police to recover them.
“The two were holding hands when their bodies were found. Maybe one was trying to save the other when they drowned,” the officer said.
All three were taken to the Diamond Harbour Government Medical College and Hospital, where Basu and Prasad were declared dead. The third, who had passed out, was revived at the hospital.
Basu’s mother, a teacher, said her son had left home around 7.15am on Saturday saying he was going to a friend’s house.
“I called him before leaving for my workplace. He said he had reached his friend’s house. I called him again after the school hours but he did not answer. I returned home and collected Shanu’s number. Shanu’s phone rang several times before someone answered. He said he was from the police,” Basu’s mother said on Sunday.
One of Shanu’s relatives said Shanu was a sales executive at a private company.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem.
The police said on Sunday evening the youths’ families had not lodged any complaint.