Police Investigate Death of Two Minor Sisters Found in Balabatti Well in Nidagundi Taluk

A tragic incident has unfolded in Balabatti village of Nidagundi taluk, Vijayapura district, where two minor sisters were found dead in an agricultural well, while their father remains missing. The deceased have been identified as Rakshita Baragi (15) and Sakshi Baragi (10), both residents of Balabatti village. The tragedy came to light when Laxmibai, the mother of the girls, returned home after participating in Varamahalakshmi festival rituals at relatives' residences along with her three other children. Upon reaching home, she discovered that her husband, Sabanna Baragi, and her two daughters were missing. Suspecting something amiss, Laxmibai searched the nearby fields and found Sabanna's clothing placed near a village well. On peering inside, she discovered the bodies of her two daughters floating in the water. Local police and personnel from the Fire and Emergency Services department arrived at the scene. Fearing that Sabanna might also have jumped into the well, officials used pumps to drain the water completely during an extensive search operation; however, his body was not found. The bodies of the two sisters were retrieved and transported to the Nidagundi Community Health Centre for postmortem examinations before being handed over to the family for final rites. Nidagundi police have registered a case and initiated an investigation to trace Sabanna Baragi and determine the precise sequence of events leading to the tragedy. For residents of Nidagundi taluk, the unresolved mystery has shocked the rural community, prompting calls for swift police action to locate the missing father.