BENGALURU: Three students and an electrician drowned in two separate incidents near Kumbalgodu and Kanakpura Road on Tuesday. In one incident, Darshan R (19), an electrician, and Neelavardhan (16), a first-year PUC student of a private college, drowned in Bheemanakuppe lake near Kumbalagodu. They had gone with three of their friends -- Nanjunda, Tulasiram and Darshan V -- to the lake for an outing. The victims ventured into the lake for a swim, and got drowned. All the friends are residents of Cholarapalya on Magadi road.
Their panicked friends alerted the locals who called the Fire and Emergency Department. Rescue personnel rushed to the spot and fished out the bodies after a two-hour search. According to the police, they had come to the lake near Bettanapalya Cross 1.45pm. The duo was caught in silt and was unable to come out, an officer added. Kumbalagodu police have recorded the statements of Nanjunda and Tulasiram.
It is said that they did not inform about their outing to their parents when they left their houses at 12 pm. The bodies were shifted to RR Nagar Hospital for autopsy and further investigations are on. “Preliminary investigations revealed that it is a case of accidental drowning and we have ruled out any foul play,” a senior police officer said.
In another incident, PU students Charan P and John Kennedy, drowned at Thottikallu falls on Kanakapura road. They were residents of Suddaguntepalya and were studying in a private college in Jayanagar. The duo along with their friends had come to the falls for picnic. Though Charan and John did not know how to swim, they ventured into the water. Their friends warned them repeatedly not to venture into deep water, but they ignored the warnings and got drowned. Their friends raised an alarm and villagers initially searched for them. They then alerted the Bannerghatta police.