By: Express News ServiceAhmedabad | November 9, 2025 08:50 AM IST 2 min readOn Saturday, the bodies were fished out of the canal by firefighters. (Express Photo)IN AN apparent case of murder-suicide, the bodies of a 29-year-old man and his two minor daughters were recovered from the Narmada Canal in Shirsa village of Gandhinagar, police said on Saturday.Dheeraj Bhala Desai had stepped out of his residence in Kalol taluka around 11 am on Friday with his two daughters Jiyana, aged 4, and 10-month-old Jasvi after telling the family he was going for Aadhaar card registration of the children. On Saturday, the bodies were fished out of the canal by firefighters.The family is based in Borisana village and Desai owned three petrol pumps, police said.In the diary entry filed at the Santej police station on the basis of an oral application by Desai’s uncle Manojkumar Saiji Desai, it was noted that Dheeraj Desai had on Friday sent a message to another uncle, Jayesh, wherein he had given the password of his mobile phone and told him where to locate it – on the Shirsa-Palsana canal.The applicant said that when he and other family members reached there, they saw Dheeraj’s Kia brand car there on the bridge over the canal, and inside it, his phone and wallet, but no sign of the man or his daughters. They informed the police.The Santej police launched a search operation and called in the Gandhinagar Fire and Emergency Services (GFES) for help. Rajesh Patel of the GFES on Saturday confirmed that the bodies had been fished out of the canal.Inspector F R Muchhad told The Indian Express, “We are yet to determine the cause of this incident. We are investigating in all directions and will take statements of the family’s members after a few days. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination.”Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:GujaratNarmada canal