Beltangady: Two teenagers drown in river at Nidigal

Daijiworld Media Network – Beltangady (SP)

Beltangady, Mar 10: Two youngsters, studying in the same class, lost their lives while bathing in the River Netravati at Nidigal in Kalmanja village on Ujire-Charmadi Road.

Aditya (15) and Sooraj (15) paid dearly for their mistake of entering the river without properly assessing its depth. The bodies of these friends, who had gone missing on Saturday, were found floating on Sunday March 9.

Both were students of ninth standard at Anugraha English medium school in Ujire. Aditya was the son of Nataraj from Mavinahalli in  Koodoli, Chikmagalur district. Sooraj was the son of Suresh from Nidpalli in Moodigere, Chikmagalur district. Nataraj is an agriculturist, while Suresh is a barber by profession. Both the boys are survived by their parents and a sister each.

Aditya’s father had visited his son on Saturday, before returning home. Both the friends went suddenly missing on Saturday evening from Shantiniketana Mess in Ujire located near their school, where they stayed. Mess operator, Prabhakar Shetty, had informed the police about the missing boys. Although searches were undertaken on Saturday, the boys were nowhere to be located.

On Sunday morning, a local who had ventured near the river sighted a body floating in river water at Nidgal. He conveyed this information to the police. Although the locals, with police help, continued their search for over six hours to locate the other student, their efforts did not yield fruit.  The body of the other boy emerged from the depths of the water later in the afternoon.

It is suspected that the boys entered river water near Nidgal Bridge, where the water happens to be very deep, without knowing about it. It is thought that they would have been dragged away by strong undercurrents.

Sub-inspector, Prakash Devadiga, school management committee members, zilla panchayat president, Koragappa Naik, school headmaster, teachers, and scores of other locals had gathered at the spot after coming to know of the tragedy. The taluk tahsildar also conducted an inquest as it is a case of unnatural death.