Jhargram: The body of Priti Dutta, 34, who drowned saving her seven-year-old son at Ghaghra Falls in Belpahari on Saturday, was retrieved from a mountain crevice after a day-long search operation on Sunday evening.Priti, a resident of Baruipur in South 24 Parganas, was swept away by strong currents after her son fell into the turbulent stream while taking photographs. Her husband, Rajdeep Dutta, managed to rescue the child, who remains safe.The search, launched at 5am Sunday, involved SDRF, NDRF, deep-sea divers, police, fire department, and forest officials. Heavy rainfall had swollen water levels, making the search arduous. Cranes were brought in to search deep rocky crevices, efforts extended downstream towards Tarafeni Barrage.“The body was recovered from a mountain crevice near the incident site and is being sent for post-mortem,” SP Manab Singla said.DM Aakanksha Bhaskar said the administration would step up surveillance and prevent tourists from venturing into hazardous areas. Warning signboards will be erected and entry into prohibited zones restricted.Binpur MLA Debnath Tudu urged tourists to exercise caution while visiting the spot and stated that alternative safety measures and barricading would be installed around danger zones.Ghaghra Falls has witnessed recurring tragedies. A CBI sub-inspector drowned here in Dec 2016, and an eight-year-old child from Baruipur died in Aug 2021.
