Lucknow: The body of 18-year-old Suraj, who was swept away while trying to rescue a buffalo from the Behta drain, was found tangled in bushes near Gojhihar village in Unnao on Saturday, three days after he went missing.The incident occurred on Thursday evening when Suraj, a resident of Tarauna village, rushed to help after a buffalo owned by a local resident became trapped in water hyacinth in the drain. Along with his friends, he entered the water using ropes tied to an electricity pole. However, Suraj reportedly lost his grip on a jute rope and was swept away by the strong current.Locals said the drain was nearly 30 feet deep and Suraj did not know how to swim. Despite frantic rescue attempts by his friends, he disappeared in the fast-flowing water.The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), assisted by local divers, launched an extensive search operation. On Saturday morning, teams resumed the search using boats and scanned a 3.5-km stretch of the drain. After nearly two-and-a-half hours, Suraj’s body was found near an under-construction bridge in Unnao.The delay in locating him triggered protests on Friday, with family members and villagers briefly blocking the Lucknow-Hardoi highway, alleging inadequate rescue efforts. The blockade ended after police assured them that the search operation would continue.
