A 26-year old youth drowned while taking bath in a stream in Mawer area of Handwara in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Wednesday evening.

Locals told GNS that Imtiyaz Ahmad Bhat son of Mohammad Mukhtar Bhat, a resident of Wulrama drowned in a stream at Haderkhari, Shanoo area of Mawer while he was taking bath to beat the heat today late in the afternoon.

Soon after the news spread, hundreds of locals assembled at the spot while teams of police and local administration immediately started an operation to retrieve the body of the deceased, they said.

A police officer said the youth's body was retrieved from the nallah late in the evening.

He said the youth drowned apparently after getting stuck in the mud.

A case under 174 CrPc has been registered to know the actual cause of the death, the officer said.

He said that after conducting all legal formalities, the body of the deceased was handed over to his family for last rites. (GNS)