CHENNAI: Four school students aged 10 to 13 years, including two girls, who went missing from Lakshmipuram near Chromepet on Saturday, were found dead in Tiruneermalai Lake on Sunday morning. The police suspect that they may have got caught in the sludge and drowned while bathing in the lake.
The bodies were recovered with the help of fire and rescue services personnel on Sunday, sent to the Tambaram district government hospital for post-mortem, and later handed over to the families for final rites.
According to the Chromepet police, the deceased were identified as Class VII student K Devadarshan (12) and Class VIII students Pooja (13) and L Kushi (13). They were all from the same government school in Chromepet. D Yuvanesh (10), a Class VI student of a private school, was the fourth victim. The parents of the children are daily-wage workers in the construction sector.
Since their schools had been closed since Friday, the children had gone out together to play around noon on Saturday.
Kids may have ventured deeper into the lake: Police
A search began late Saturday evening after they failed to return home. Relatives and parents initially scoured the area around the lake but could not locate them.
The families shared information in local WhatsApp groups before approaching the police. On Saturday evening, the parents of Devadarshan and Yuvanesh lodged complaints at the Chromepet police station.
Police subsequently checked railway stations, including Tambaram, Egmore and Chennai Central, as well as the Kilambakkam bus terminus and CCTV footage, suspecting the students might have travelled elsewhere.
On Sunday morning, families of Pooja and Kushi also lodged police complaints. Around 10 am, members of the public noticed the four bodies floating on the lake and alerted the police. The Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Department personnel helped recover the bodies.
“As there are no eyewitnesses to the drowning, we do not know the exact sequence of events. But since all the four bodies had slush and mud on feet, we suspect that the children may have ventured deeper into the lake. Further probe is under way,” a senior officer told TNIE. Chromepet police registered a case under Section 194 (unnatural death) of the BNSS and are continuing their investigation.