Subedar posted at INS Shivaji falls to death in Lonavla

Pune: A 49-year-old Subedar posted at INS Shivaji in Lonavla died after falling into a 400ft-deep valley at Lion’s Point, about 70km from Pune, on Thursday afternoon.

Members of rescue teams Shivdurga Mitra, Lonavla and Wanyajeev Rakshak, Maval, retrieved the body from the valley in the evening.

Inspector Dinesh Tayade of the Lonavla Rural police told TOI that on Thursday afternoon, the victim, Rakesh Kumar Mishra, who hailed from Mangolpuri in New Delhi, and his colleague had gone to Lion’s Point and were sitting near the valley. Mishra’s son and friend had planned visit to Lonavla on May 30. Mishra wanted to take them to the Lion’s point. On Thursday he had gone there to explore the area before his son’s visit.

“Around 1pm, Mishra made a video call to his relative and was showing her the valley. During the video call, he slipped and fell into the 400ft-deep gorge,” Tayade said.

The officer said Mishra’s colleague alerted his seniors, following which the police and rescue teams were summoned to the spot. They retrieved the body in the evening and sent it for post-mortem examination.

“We registered a case of accidental death,” the officer said.

Nilesh Garade of Wanyajeev Rakshak, Maval, said it took the team three hours to retrieve the body from the valley. “The victim’s cellphone was also recovered,” Garade added.