Transcription
It was around 1:00 PM on the afternoon of May 21, 2026. There is a ghat called Eli Majha Ghat in the Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh, situated on the banks of the Saryu River. Some people had come to this ghat for a funeral. As soon as all the funeral rites were completed, people's eyes fell on the Saryu River. A dead body was floating in the Saryu River, and amidst this, people saw the body and told a boatman, "Brother, look, this dead body is floating away. Whose body is it?" The boatman didn't hesitate. He immediately jumped into the boat and reached the body, pulled it out, and placed it on the shore. Upon seeing it, it appeared as if significant attempts had been made to inflict injuries on various parts of the body.
Meanwhile, people took out the wallet from the deceased's pocket. After taking it out, an Aadhaar card was found inside. The Aadhaar card was examined. The name written was Deepak Sharma, aged around 30 years, a resident of a place called Sigma 2 near Pari Chowk in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Immediately, these people informed the nearest village head, who then went straight to the police station. When this information was given at the police station, the police, along with the SDRF team, the forest department team, and hundreds of people, were already searching for a person by this name in the Saryu River. This was no other person but Deepak Sharma himself, who had come to attend the funeral of his mother-in-law. As he was sitting by the riverbank trying to wash his face, a crocodile appeared and dragged him away. What is the story behind this incident? Let's try to understand and learn through this story.
Greetings, Namaskar, Sat Sri Akal. I am Usman Saifi. Deepak Sharma, a young man around 30 years old, residing in Sigma 2, Pari Chowk, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. This happened very early in the morning on May 20, 2026. He received a phone call that his mother-in-law, who was suffering from cancer, had passed away. As soon as he received the news of her death, he immediately woke up his wife, Rekha Verma (also known as Rekha Sharma), and their 4-year-old daughter, Nikki. He told them to get ready quickly, as they had to go to their home. When the talk of going home came up, it was a journey of 650 kilometers. He said there was no other vehicle arrangement, so they would travel in their own car. They prepared their car and set off.
Around 9:30 AM, they reached Deeh village in the Umri Begumganj police station area of Gonda district, Uttar Pradesh. Upon arriving there, he informed Rekha that her mother had passed away, which was why they had to come. As soon as she heard the news of her mother's death, the young woman was inconsolable. It was around 12:00 PM. All the funeral preparations were now complete. They had brought the dead body to the banks of the Saryu River at a place called Mohammadpur Udaybhan Pahi for the final rites. When they brought it there, around 12:00 PM, Deepak Sharma participated in his mother-in-law's funeral. He started leveling the ground and began preparing the pyre. As soon as he started doing this, a nearby neighbor, Rajesh Shukla, said, "Deepak Sharma, you are doing something very wrong. According to Hindu customs, no son-in-law prepares or decorates his mother-in-law's pyre in this manner. Try to understand, it will be a great sin." Deepak replied, "This is not my mother-in-law, but my mother. I consider her more than my mother. So, please don't stop me." Although the people around tried to stop him, Deepak flatly refused. Deepak got busy with his work and started decorating the pyre.
When he was decorating the pyre, it was completed. Then came the time for the final rites. Their 12-year-old son, whose mother's name was Urmila, Urmila Sharma, was ready to perform the final rites. The son, Raj, who was 12 years old, went to perform the final rites. Meanwhile, Deepak Sharma went to the banks of the Saryu River to wash his hands and feet. At this moment, the villagers started shouting loudly, saying, "Deepak, what are you doing? Don't even try to go into the river. There is a board there. The board clearly states that large crocodiles live here. If you go there, you could be harmed." He looked towards the people and smiled. He said, "What are you talking about?" Before he could go back into the river and try to splash water on his face, a crocodile actually appeared. As soon as the crocodile lifted its head, it immediately grabbed his face in its jaws, and pulling his head into its jaws, it dragged him underwater. The people there couldn't even comprehend what had happened. A sudden silence fell over the place. People's hair stood on end. Before people could think or do anything, screams erupted. Even after the screams, nothing could be done. The crocodile took the person, its jaws filled with his face and whatever part it could grasp, and started to move away.
There was a boatman on the river. He was immediately told, "Look, a crocodile has taken a man. Stop it as quickly as possible." The boatman didn't hesitate and immediately began to pursue the crocodile. He rammed the crocodile with great speed, and as he collided, the crocodile released the dead body, Deepak. As the crocodile released Deepak, he tried to regain his composure. After regaining himself, the boatman started bringing him back in the same direction. But before that, the crocodile reached Deepak again and clamped down on Deepak's mouth once more. After clamping down, it disappeared in such a way that it was no longer visible to anyone. Seizing the opportunity, it vanished from there, escaping.
This news spread like wildfire in a very short time. People couldn't understand what to do. The boatmen present at the scene also started searching. The information reached the forest department team, and they also arrived at the scene and joined the search. The news reached the District Magistrate, Priyanka Niranjan, and also the Superintendent of Police, Vineet Jaiswal. They also acted wisely and informed the SDRF in Lucknow, about 171 kilometers away, requesting them to send a team as soon as possible. They explained that a crocodile had dragged a person into the water and they needed to search for him. As soon as the SDRF team received the information, they covered the distance of about two and a half to three hours and began their search. They searched throughout the night from the time he disappeared until the next day, May 21, 2026, but he could not be found.
The next day arrived, May 21, 2026. They started trying again. They were making every possible effort in the area where he disappeared and within a two to three-kilometer radius. But there was no trace of Deepak. However, about 8 kilometers from this incident site, there is a ghat called Eli Majha Ghat. Around 50 people had come to Eli Majha Ghat to perform the funeral of a dead body. While performing the funeral, their eyes fell on the Saryu River, and a dead body was floating in the river. Meanwhile, these people, with the help of a boatman, retrieved the body. When they identified it, they discovered it was Deepak Sharma. On one hand, hundreds of people were searching about 8 kilometers away, but he was not found there. He had floated all the way here. It is speculated that the crocodile must have tried to eat him. It is now being estimated that the crocodile's size was small, and the young man's size was quite large. Although it tried to eat him, there were injury marks on various parts of his body, as if someone had tried to chew him, but couldn't, so it let go and left. His dead body was taken into custody and sent for post-mortem. As soon as the family members received the news of Deepak's death, they were heartbroken and inconsolable. His 4-year-old daughter is also distressed, and his wife is also distressed. He had attended his mother-in-law's funeral. The villagers had tried to stop him, but he remained adamant. If only he hadn't been busy decorating the pyre, and if only he had listened to the people and not gone near the river, the crocodile would never have dragged him away. A notice board had already been put up by the forest department stating, "Do not try to go into the river. Large crocodiles live here." This is because similar incidents have happened before, and people have gone there, and crocodiles have taken bodies. Sometimes, information is also received that the body was never found, and such incidents occur.
Currently, the District Disaster Management Department has announced financial assistance of ₹4 lakh to the family. However, money can never compensate for the person who is gone. There is a young daughter, and his wife will likely live the rest of her life as a widow. There is no one else in the house for the child. That is, Rekha's mother has also passed away, and her father had died earlier. Currently, her grandfather is alive. The grandfather was present at the funeral. He also stated that when this incident was happening, no one had the courage to try and stop it, because if anyone had tried to stop it, there might have been other crocodiles, which could have posed a threat to someone else's life as well.
Friends, the purpose of narrating this entire incident is not to disturb anyone or hurt anyone's feelings, but to make you aware and alert. Wherever you are, take care of yourself and stay safe. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.