Dholpur pond tragedy: 3 sisters drown saving brother, all 4 die
Synopsis
A selfie gone wrong triggered a chain of drownings in Rajasthan's Dholpur district on 30 August: a 23-year-old lost his footing at a pond's edge, and three sisters who leapt in to save him — including one aged 36 — all perished. Four members of the same family died within minutes, on a day they had come together to celebrate a post-Raksha Bandhan festival.
Key Takeaways
Four members of the same family — Bholu alias Ravi (23) , Manorama (30) , Boto (36) , and Nisha (21) — drowned in a pond in Dhaundh Birja village, Dholpur on 30 August .
Bholu fell into the pond after losing his footing while taking a selfie on his mobile phone.
His sisters Manorama and Boto, and cousin Nisha, jumped in to rescue him; all three also drowned due to the pond's depth and high water level.
The family had gathered at the site to visit the Hiraman Baba Temple on the occasion of Dauj , a post-Raksha Bandhan festival.
All four bodies were recovered with the help of local divers and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel; postmortems were conducted at a government hospital in Sarmathura .
Three sisters and their brother drowned in a pond in Rajasthan's Dholpur district on Sunday, 30 August, after the women jumped into the water in a desperate bid to rescue the young man who had fallen in while taking a selfie. All four members of the same family died in the incident, which unfolded in Dhaundh Birja village under the Angai police station area.
How the Tragedy Unfolded
The family had travelled to the village to visit the Hiraman Baba Temple, a local folk deity, on the occasion of Dauj — a festival observed in the days following Raksha Bandhan. While the sisters were offering prayers at the temple, their brother Bholu alias Ravi, 23, a resident of Nathua Pura, walked to a nearby pond. According to officials, he was taking a selfie on his mobile phone when he lost his footing and fell into the deep water.
On realising their brother was struggling in the pond, sisters Manorama and Boto, along with their cousin Nisha, immediately jumped in to save him. The high water level and depth of the pond proved fatal for all three women as well.
Victims Identified
The four people who lost their lives have been identified as Manorama, 30, a resident of Mauhari Tajpur; Boto, 36, a resident of Ramratan Ka Pura; Nisha, 21, a resident of Nathua Pura; and Bholu alias Ravi, 23, also of Nathua Pura. The deaths of four members of the same family sent shock through the village and left relatives devastated.
Rescue and Recovery
As news spread, a large number of villagers gathered at the pond and alerted the police. With assistance from local divers and personnel from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), all four bodies were recovered from the water. The bodies were subsequently taken to the government hospital in Sarmathura, where postmortems were conducted in the presence of family members before the remains were handed over to their respective families.
A Pattern of Preventable Drownings
This is not an isolated incident. Drownings at unguarded rural ponds and water bodies — particularly during festive gatherings — are a recurring tragedy across Rajasthan and other states. The combination of elevated water levels during the monsoon season and the absence of safety barriers or warning signs at such sites continues to claim lives each year. Notably, the instinct to rescue a drowning person without swimming ability or equipment frequently turns a single fatality into multiple deaths, as appears to have happened here.
Point of View
Many of which fill to dangerous depths during the monsoon, remain almost entirely unguarded and unmarked. Festive gatherings near water bodies amplify the risk. The recurring nature of such incidents points to a systemic failure: the absence of basic safety infrastructure — warning signs, rope lines, life rings — at community water bodies that see seasonal footfall. Grief alone will not prevent the next such incident; enforceable rural water-safety standards will.
NationPress
30 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened in the Dholpur pond drowning incident?
On 30 August, a 23-year-old man named Bholu alias Ravi fell into a deep pond in Dhaundh Birja village, Dholpur, while taking a selfie. His sisters Manorama and Boto, and their cousin Nisha, jumped in to save him; all four drowned due to the pond's depth and high water level.
Who were the victims of the Dholpur pond tragedy?
The four victims were Manorama, 30, from Mauhari Tajpur; Boto, 36, from Ramratan Ka Pura; Nisha, 21, from Nathua Pura; and Bholu alias Ravi, 23, from Nathua Pura — all members of the same family.
Why were the family members near the pond?
The family had come to Dhaundh Birja village to visit the Hiraman Baba Temple on the occasion of Dauj, a local festival observed after Raksha Bandhan. While the sisters were at the temple, Bholu went to the nearby pond.
How were the bodies recovered?
Local divers and personnel from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) assisted police in recovering all four bodies from the pond. The remains were taken to a government hospital in Sarmathura for postmortems before being handed over to the families.
Why do rescue attempts like this often end in multiple drownings?
When untrained individuals without swimming ability or rescue equipment enter deep or fast-moving water, they are themselves at high risk of drowning. In this case, the pond's depth and elevated monsoon water level overcame all three women who attempted the rescue.
