Two Sisters Drown in Netrokona District Pond

Two young sisters drowned in a pond in the Mohanganj Upazila of Netrokona district on Friday, 19 June 2026. The incident occurred during the afternoon in Paboi village, situated within the Barkashia-Birampur Union, whilst family members were occupied with wedding festivities. The victims have been identified as seven-year-old Niha Akter and three-year-old Noha Akter, the daughters of Nizam Uddin, a local hand-trolley driver. Family sources confirmed that the two deceased sisters were Nizam Uddin’s only children.

According to local residents and family members, the wedding of Nizam Uddin’s niece was taking place at the residence on Friday. Due to the various logistical arrangements and activities associated with the wedding ceremony, the adults of the household were heavily occupied. During the afternoon, taking advantage of the lack of immediate supervision, the two sisters went to bathe in the pond located directly in front of their house. At one stage, both children slipped beneath the surface of the water and failed to re-emerge.

The situation came to light later in the afternoon when a local resident spotted one of the children floating in the water and raised an alarm. Hearing the shouts, family members and neighbours rushed to the scene and extracted both children from the pond in an unconscious state. The sisters were immediately transported to the Mohanganj Upazila Health Complex, where the medical officer on duty examined them and officially pronounced both children dead upon arrival.

The incident has highlighted an administrative lapse regarding the notification protocol between the healthcare facility and law enforcement. The Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Mohanganj Police Station, Md. Hafizul Islam Harun, stated that a police team was dispatched to the scene only after law enforcement received information regarding the fatalities through local residents. He noted that although established administrative regulations mandate that the health complex must immediately inform the police of any unnatural deaths or accidental drownings, the hospital administration failed to do so in this instance.

Dr Momenul Islam, the Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer, acknowledged the communication failure, stating that he had previously convened multiple meetings to instruct all medical personnel and staff to report unnatural deaths to the police immediately. He indicated that his directives had been disregarded by the duty personnel. Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Amena Khatun reiterated that it is imperative for the health complex to notify the police of such occurrences. She added that the negligence of the responsible staff had been formally brought to the attention of the Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer, and expressed expectation that appropriate administrative action would be taken.

The verified details regarding the drowning incident are structured in the table below:

Mohanganj Drowning Incident Overview