TUMAKURU: A senior journalist with an English daily Rohith Bevinahalli Rajanna (39) accidentally drowned in an open well at Kaduranahalli village on Saturday. Along with his younger brother Kumaraswamy and cousin Vinay, he ventured into an open well for swimming. According to initial reports, after a round of swimming, his brother and cousin were resting on the well’s steps when he jumped into the 15-feet-deep well and reportedly injured his head by hitting it on a rock. However, the police ruled out any such injury and attributed the minor injury over the right eyebrow and nose to the operation carried out by the fire brigade crew to fish out the body.
“Even as Rohith had raised alarm with gestures at the eleventh hour, Kumaraswamy and Vinay were helpless because they are not good swimmers”, the police said as quoted by Kumaraswamy. Rohith’s father Rajanna was at the well above and screamed for help but there was nobody nearby. The place of incident is a far from the village and the well belonged to Rohith’s maternal uncle Basavaraju. Rohith’s family including his journalist wife Rashmi and a two and half-year-old daughter had come to celebrate the Mahashivarathri. His final rites will be held on Sunday.