Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (UM)

Kundapur, May 30: A woman and her two daughters met a tragic death in a pond at Beloor here on the night of Tuesday May 30.

The deceased have been identified as Bharati Shetty (45) and her daughters Prithvi (21) and Prajna Shetty (19).

A couple of days ago, paddy seeds had been packed in six sacks and kept near the pond so that they germinate in time for sowing. But as it started pouring all of a sudden, Bharati and her daughters went to the pond to retrieve the sacks so that the paddy seeds wouldn't be harmed in the rain. It was then that the tragedy took place.

It is surmised that Bharati lost her footing and accidentally fell into the pond. On seeing her mother fall, Prithvi rushed to her rescue, but she too got drowned. Prajna then jumped into the water in a rescue both of them, but she met watery grave.

None of them knew swimming.

When the mother and two daughters did not return home even till late evening, their family members and neighbours started a search operation for them. At around 7.30 pm, they noticed five sacks of paddy lying near the pond, and growing suspicious, they looked in the water and found the three bodies.

As they were no witnesses to the tragedy, the police have not yet ascertained the exact reason behind the deaths.

Bharati was the wife of farmer Surendra Shetty, a resident of Ampar, and daughter of Narasimha Shetty, also a farmer. Prithvi was a final year degree student of SMS College, Brahmavar, while Prajna was a first year degree student of Bhandarkar's College, Kundapur, sources said.

As news of the incident spread, people gathered in large numbers despite the rain.

The police and the fire personnel who arrived at the spot retrieved the bodies.

Kota police have registered a case.