Lucknow: A 41-year-old LIC agent drowned in a canal in Manaknagar area on Monday after his motorcycle lost balance while he was returning home with his eight-year-old daughter.The deceased, identified as Ravi Kushwaha, a resident of Khushi Vihar in Krishnanagar, was taking his daughter Vanshika, a student of Avadh Collegiate School, home when the accident occurred near a culvert.According to eyewitnesses, Ravi was riding the motorcycle when a truck suddenly approached from the opposite direction. He apparently lost control, causing the motorcycle to hit the broken stones on the side of the culvert. The impact threw Ravi into the canal, while his daughter fell towards the road. The girl suffered minor injuries.Vanshika told police that her father suddenly applied the front brake after noticing the approaching truck.The incident reportedly occurred around 11am. Local residents informed the police through 112.Residents alleged that the initial police response was delayed amid a dispute over jurisdiction. The delay triggered protests and anger among people.Later, personnel from Manaknagar and Alambagh police stations reached the spot, and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) was called for the rescue operation.The SDRF team arrived around 1pm, nearly two hours after the incident, and began the search. The team later found Ravi in the canal. He was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.Police sent the body for postmortem examination and began investigating the circumstances leading to the accident.Manaknagar SHO Ajit Kumar said police reached the spot after receiving the information and immediately called the SDRF. He said the rescue team found the body about 20 mt away and that the circumstances under which Ravi fell into the canal were being investigated.Ravi is survived by his wife Sunita Kushwaha and two children.
