TUMAKURU: In a heart-wrenching incident, four persons including two students drowned in a pond (gokatte) on the premises of Siddaganga Mutt in Tumakuru on Sunday.
The deceased, identified as Harshith from Ramanagara and Shankar from Chikkmagaluru districts, both aged eleven, were class VI students in the free boarding school of the mutt. Other deceased include Lakshmi (32) of Bagalagunte in Bengaluru and Mahadevappa(44) of Syedapura in Yadgir district.
The fire brigade crew fished out the bodies of Lakshmi and Harshith and were searching for the remaining two. Lakshmi’s son Ranjith, studying in class VI, went to the pond to wash his hands after lunch and slipped. His classmates Harshith and Shankar ventured to rescue him, but drowned. Laksmi and Mahadevappa who rushed to their rescue also drowned.
Fortunately, Ranjith survived. Police suspect the victims might have been entangled in the silt inside the pond. Kyathsandra circle police inspector Ramprasad visited the spot and filed an FIR.