Mumbai: Teenager’s body who drowned off Versova beach two days ago, found

A body of a teenager Vaibhav Gaud who had gone to Mumbai’s Versova beach for a swim found two days after he drowned off. After celebrating Janmashtami, Vaibhav along with his friends Rehan had gone to Versova beach for a swim, but Vaibhav drowned off and his friend Rehan remains admitted in Mumbai’s Cooper hospital.

Vaibhav was a class 7 student, whose body was found on Wednesday morning. Before going to Versova beach, Vaibhav informed her mother saying, he is going to celebrate Dahi Handi. His mother Shakuntala, who lives in Versova’s Bazar Gully, told Indian Express, “He just had tea, bread and butter. He took his bat and left for Yaari Road when his friend came calling. He returned soaked in dahi,” Around 1.30 pm on Monday when Vaibhav returned, he peeked through their ground-floor home’s window and kept his bat by the window side. “He had got a stone with my initial inscribed on it. He gave me that and said he’ll return in five minutes. He never informed me he was going to the beach,” his mother told the Daily. 

Vaibhav’s father, Rakesh Gaud owns a chat stall in Andheri West, had moved to Versova two years before, “There is no lifeguard. Nobody has ever appealed for one,” he said. Vaibhav, along with three friends Rehan, Aayush Khanduraindar (13) and Harsh Amol Koli (12), reached Versova beach by afternoon.

According to Vaibhav’s friends Harsh, who was rescued immediately by a local resident, Rehan had challenged everyone to go deep into the water to bathe. “Harsh’s footwear slipped, so he remained behind. My son was tall, he kept going further in,” his father told daily.  Vaibhav’s friends claimed they suddenly slipped as the seabed got deeper. A local resident rescued Aayush and Harsh, while Rehan was rescued later.

Rehan was taken to Cooper hospital in a critical condition, “We put him on oxygen support,” said Dr Rajesh Sukhadev, medical superintendent at the hospital.  Rehan’s condition was stable on Wednesday.

Vaibhav’s elder brother Vikas (21) alleged the search operation team saying, “the Navy boat wasn’t even working. The fire brigade and police were slow in looking for the body. They limited themselves to a circle in the water and kept going in a loop.” 

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