TIRUPATTUR: A 17-year-old polytechnic student of Gudiyatham died on Wednesday night as he slipped and fell from a 150-ft-high cliff while trying to retrieve his mobile phone from a monkey. The incident happened at Kailasagiri Hill at Ambur in Tirupattur district.
The deceased, Tharanivel (picture), was the son of Saravanan of Kottamitta village in Gudiyatham taluk. He was a student of Rajagopal Polytechnic College and was staying at his uncle Vadivel’s house at Kothur village near Ambur for the past three months. He was taking care of his uncle’s children as Vadivel had gone abroad for work, sources said.
According to police sources, Tharanivel and his friend Kavinkumar (19) of Kothur village decided to climb up the Kailasagiri hills which is popular for its Murugan temple located at a height of 600 feet. After walking on the hill road for a height of about 150 feet, Kavin Kumar allegedly used Tharanivel’s mobile phone to capture a selfie before placing it on the sidewalk where he sat down to relax.
Suddenly, a monkey appeared on the scene, picked up the phone, and escaped from the spot. Tharanivel pursued the primate which eventually dropped the phone at a risky spot on a cliff and fled. Tharanivel attempted to retrieve the phone but lost his grip and fell from the cliff.
Kavinkumar, who was trailing him, ran down to the foothills and saw his friend Tharanivel lying on the ground with severe injuries. Onlookers immediately alerted the Omerabad police. A police team that reached the spot found Tharanivel dead and sent his body to the Ambur Government Hospital for a postmortem.
An FIR under IPC Section 174 has been registered by the Omerabad police, and investigation is under way.
Speaking to TNIE, Babu, a forest range officer in Ambur, said, “People should refrain from using mobile phones in hilly areas, particularly in the presence of animals."