Three girls drown in river in UP

Three girls drowned while bathing in a river here, police said on Thursday.

The deceased, identified as sisters Karishma (8) and Nisha (7) and one Kajal (9) of Harbaspur village, had gone to bathe in the nearby Rapti river on Wednesday afternoon, Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar Saxena said.

The girls drowned due to the strong current of the river, Saxena said.

Police with help of divers and locals recovered the bodies in the evening and handed them over to the family members, police said.

Local MLA S P Yadav met the family members of the deceased on Thursday and urged the state government to provide an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to each to the victims' families.