BENGALURU: A day that was meant to be fun turned into a heart-wrenching tragedy for this family. On seeing their 14-year-old younger brother slip and fall into a pond, three siblings dived into it one after the other trying to save him but all four drowned.
The incident happened at Siddara Betta in Dobbspet near Tumakuru on Saturday afternoon. Munir Khan (49), an auto driver, also drowned trying to save the four siblings. He was their neighbour in Thanisandra, Bengaluru. The 14-year-old who fell into the pond first is Usman Khan (14). His siblings Reshma (22), Yaarab Khan (21) and Mubbin Taj (21), all residents of Hegdenagar near Thanisandra, drowned when they jumped into the pond one after the other to save Usman.
Dobbspet police said the four siblings and two of their neighbours had gone to visit a dargah at Siddara Betta. After offering prayers, they went near the pond in the same locality and were having food when Usman accidentally slipped and fell into the pond.
The siblings were four out of seven children of Shakila, who was in no condition to speak.“The incident occurred at 12.30pm. Munir Khan’s brother screamed for help but they could not be rescued as there were no people around. Later, villagers got to know about the incident and alerted the police. The rescue team of fire and emergency service was called in and all the five bodies were fished out with the help of local divers. The bodies were handed over to their families after post mortem,” police said.
“All the four were working in various shops. Usman Khan was working at a hardware shop,” a police source added. Dobbspet police have registered a case. Siddara Betta, also called Nijagal Betta, is a rocky hill near the Bengaluru-Pune National Highway (NH4). It is known for its ruins of ancient temples and fort built by King Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar and is known for rock formations. The place is also known for ponds inside the fort formed by water trapped between the gaps or deep depressions in the rocks — one of which claimed the five lives on Saturday afternoon.