COIMBATORE: Coimbatore District (Rural) police on Tuesday evening refuted claims made by actor and director K Bhagyaraj that several incidents of drowning that happened along the Bhavani river in Mettupalayam were not accidents but murders committed by people with expertise in diving in order to make money by retrieving the bodies.
On Tuesday morning, Bhagyaraj shared a video post on X (formerly Twitter) under the title ‘Nenju Porukkuthillaye’ detailing the alleged tragedies that had happened in Bhavani River near the Bathrakaaliamman Temple in Mettupalayam. Following this, several people posted videos stating the actor’s claims are true.
In the evening police refuted it on the official page of the TN Fact Check unit. Police declared the claims as rumour and clarified that no such incident had been reported in Mettupalayam police limit till date.
As per sources, in 2022, a total of 20 people drowned in the river. Considering the loss of lives, a special unit namely ‘Mettupalayam Life Guards’ trained by NDRF and SDRF was formed in 2023 and they continue their patrol across the river banks to ensure incidents of drowning are averted.
As a result, the number of deaths came down to six in 2023 and no death has been reported so far in 2024. In all the reported cases in 2022 and 2023, investigation has been conducted and negligence or overconfidence has been ascertained as the reason for the deaths, said the police. Further, 13 people who jumped into the river in a bid to end their lives were rescued and given counselling by the special team.