Lucknow: Three businessmen from Sitapur were found dead inside a car that was pulled out of a pond in Panchpir village under Kamalapur police station limits early Tuesday.The victims had been returning from Bahraich after visiting the injured son of one of the deceased.The deceased were identified as Rakesh Chaurasia (50), Satish Nirmal (40), and Ramendra Singh (62), all residents of the Sidhauli area and members of the local business community. Police recovered their bodies after an overnight operation involving the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and a crane.The case came to light around 1.30 am on Tuesday when villagers noticed part of a vehicle floating in the pond and alerted police. Rescue teams reached the spot and pulled out the submerged car. Two bodies were found on the front seats and one on the rear seat. Documents recovered from the vehicle helped establish their identities.According to family members, Rakesh had received information on Sunday afternoon that his son Mohan had met with a road accident in Bahraich. Though Mohan had suffered only minor injuries, Rakesh decided to visit him. His friends, Satish and Ramendra, accompanied him in Satish’s Maruti Alto.The trio left Sidhauli around 5 pm on Sunday and reached Bahraich later in the evening. Meanwhile, Mohan returned home separately and informed family members that his father would come back later after finishing some work. When the three men failed to return and their phones became unreachable, relatives grew concerned.On Monday afternoon, the families lodged a missing-person complaint. Police launched a search, examining CCTV footage along the Bahraich-Sidhauli route and tracking the last known location of their mobile phones. Investigators found footage showing the Alto heading towards Sidhauli but disappearing before reaching home. Mobile phone data later placed them near Khurd village.While the search was underway, villagers reported a submerged vehicle in the pond at Panchpir. The discovery brought the search to a tragic end.Preliminary findings suggest the car may have entered the water around 4.20 am on Monday. CCTV footage reportedly captured the vehicle about 20 minutes before it is believed to have reached the spot. Investigators suspect the car plunged into the rain-filled pond and the occupants were unable to escape.The pond had reportedly overflowed after recent rains and lacked protective railings or a boundary wall along the adjoining road.Police have sent the bodies for post-mortem examinations and are analysing CCTV footage and other evidence to determine the exact circumstances that led to the accident. Officials said all angles are being investigated.
