“THEY were cleaning up our compound in preparation for the upcoming Ram Naumi and little did I know that it was the last time I’d see them.”
These were the words of Pundit Ram Dutt of Nanuku Settlement whose step-sons, Monish and Sachin Prasad, were among the four bodies recovered in waters off Viria-East at Vatuwaqa in Suva.
Even though they were not biologically-related to him, Mr Dutt said he raised them up and treated them with undying love and affection.
When a team from this newspaper visited their home, Mr Dutt and his wife Manjila Devi, who were surrounded by relatives and friends, were still trying to come to terms with their loss.
Police spokeswoman Ana Naisoro confirmed the incident, saying a search on Sunday and yesterday morning was conducted and police officers retrieved the bodies of the victims.
“Monish had graduated with a Diploma in Computer Science while Sachin was a sixth former at DAV Boys College in Nabua. They were good kids and I treated them like my own. Sachin, on Sunday, borrowed $60 from my wife and we told him that we would give it to him after cleaning up the compound. I was lying on our veranda when our neighbour called them to go out to sea.
“This was around 2pm when they left. At about 4pm, I could hear women crying from the other houses and when my wife and I looked outside, they were calling her. I told my wife not to go as she was already sick.
“After a while, I decided to go there and when I enquired about what the matter was, I was told that both my step-sons had drowned.”
Mr Dutt said he was motionless and angry at the same time because he could not believe what he just heard.
“This is an alleged drowning incident and we really don’t know what happened to them. My sons were doing their house chores when they were called to go to the sea and for me, this is something unjustifiable. I just want a proper and thorough investigation.”
Ms Naisoro said the incident occurred on Sunday afternoon when three students, two of whom were aged 16 years and one aged 14 years, called out for help when they were being swept away by strong currents.
“Two young men who were fishing nearby attempted to rescue the students but in the process, were also swept away,” Ms Naisoro said.
“The 14-year-old managed to swim to shore unfortunately, his 16-year-old friend whose body was recovered later in the night during a search, was pronounced dead at the CWM Hospital.
“Our officers conducted their search again yesterday morning and discovered the bodies of the three people. Investigations into the matter are continuing.”
