A prominent business and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was feared to have been drowned in Tons river in Shillai area of Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh, around 250 km from here.
Deputy Superintendent of Police, Paonta Sahib, Bir Bahadur said the incident took place on Sunday evening when the businessman and Shillai block office bearer identified as Mahender Singh had come to attend a marriage in Siyasu on HP-Uttarakhand border.
“After the wedding feast, Mahender Singh along with 3-4 others relatives had gone for a walk near Tons River and after some time, they reportedly entered the river to have a bath.
As the current of the river was quite fast due to monsoons, Singh got swept away in the strong current of water,” he added.
Bir Bahadur further stated that a rescue operation was launched on Sunday after the police was informed about the incident but his body couldn’t be retrieved.
The rescue operation was resumed on Monday but his body couldn’t be retrieved till late in the evening.
“We have informed our counterparts in Uttarakhand about the incident as Tons river marks the boundary between Himachal and Uttarakhand and NDRF too had been involved to find the body of BJP leader,” he added.