Nagpur NCC teacher falls 150 ft into gorge at Pachmarhi while chasing monkey that took bag

A tragic incident took place at Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh on Friday morning. A monkey snatched a schoolgirl's bag. A 52-year-old National Cadet Corps (NCC) teacher from Nagpur, who ran to get the bag back, fell into a gorge about 150 feet deep and died. The incident occurred at Priyadarshini Viewpoint.

The deceased teacher is Vijay Naik. He lived in Khankhoje Nagar in Nagpur and was associated with Somalwar School in Ramdaspeth. He had brought a trip to this popular hill station in Narmadapuram district. The group included students from different schools, a woman teacher, her 15-year-old daughter and his father, Bhavani Naik.

The group reached Priyadarshini Viewpoint at about 6.45 am. The point is also known as Forsyth Point. All had gone there to watch the sunrise over the surrounding hills and valleys. The accident happened in front of about 20 schoolchildren, Naik's daughter and family members. A happy outing turned into shock in a moment.

According to Gopal Ghasale, in charge of Pachmarhi police station, a monkey suddenly snatched a student's bag and ran towards the rocky edge of the viewpoint. Naik ran after the monkey to retrieve the bag. He is said to have crossed the safety railing and gone close to the very edge of the hill. He lost his balance, fell into the deep gorge and hit rough ground about 150 feet below, it is alleged.

The children and the family members with him were shaken to see the teacher vanish into the gorge. A simple attempt to get a student's belongings back proved fatal within seconds. Naik's daughter and father were present there, and the shock was especially great for them.

After the accident, police personnel and local residents began a rescue operation to reach the spot where Naik fell. The rescue team had to walk about three kilometres through difficult, rocky terrain and climb down into the gorge to find the teacher's body. After considerable effort, the body was brought up on a stretcher at about 9.30 am.

The body was taken to a government hospital for a post-mortem examination. After the post-mortem it was handed over to Naik's relatives, who took it to Wardha. The remaining members of the trip were sent back to Nagpur after the incident.

The accident has again raised the question of safety arrangements at popular tourist spots in Pachmarhi. Sources familiar with the area pointed to inadequate protective railings at some places and to the constant nuisance of monkeys snatching tourists' food, bags and belongings. Local residents claim that about five to 10 tourists are injured every day at various tourist spots in Pachmarhi in monkey attacks and related incidents.

The incident has shown how deadly it can be to go near monkeys or cross protective barriers to recover snatched belongings. For Naik's family and the schoolchildren with him, the sunrise trip will remain a lasting sad memory. A teacher who ran to help a student died suddenly.