South 24 Parganas, 5 October (H.S.) : A fisherman fishing in a river in the Patharpratima area of South 24 Parganas district was mauled by a crocodile. His body was recovered on Sunday morning after a 12-hour search. The police have sent the body for post-mortem.

According to police sources, the deceased fisherman has been identified as Shankar Hatir (45), a resident of Daspur North Surendraganj area under the Govardhanpur Coastal Police Station, within G-Plot Gram Panchayat of Patharpratima Block in South 24 Parganas.

According to the family, relatives had come to Shankar's house for Vijayadashami. Shankar had gone out to catch fresh fish from the river to feed them. He was casting his net in the Jagaddal River near his house when he suddenly felt a strong pull on the net. He thought a large fish had been caught, so he dove into the water up to his knees and began pulling it out.

But within moments, the scene changed. A woman grazing goats on the riverbank saw Shankar being dragged by a large crocodile toward the river.

Hearing Shankar's screams, other fishermen rushed to the spot, but it was too late. The crocodile had already taken him underwater. Govardhanpur Coastal Police Station was immediately alerted. A police team, led by the station in-charge, launched a search operation in the river with a boat. Forest department officials also arrived at the scene. Locals, the police, and the forest department searched the river throughout the night, but found no trace of him by Saturday night.

Finally, Shankar's body was recovered from the river on Sunday morning.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey