2 boys drown in Devasandra lake

Two young boys from neighbouring houses in Raju Nagar, Bachappa Layout, drowned in the nearby Devasandra Lake on Wednesday morning. Their bodies were fished out on Thursday afternoon. The deceased are Darshan, 8 and Venkatesh, 12.

When the two went missing since Wednesday morning, Darshan's younger brother Jagadish said he saw them drowning in the Devasandra lake. Their parents and residents searched the lake in the evening for the boys. When they did not find the bodies of the boys in the lake, they dismissed the young boy's alert and instead lodged a missing complaint with the KR Puram police late in the night.

On Thursday morning, the police informed the personnel of the Fire and Emergency Services, who searched for the boys in the lake. By mid-afternoon, the divers from the fire force and the public located the body of Venkatesh deep in the water.

Darshan's body was found nearby and it was fished out. The bodies were immediately shifted to Dr B R Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital, where autopsy was conducted. The bodies were later handed over to the grieving families.

Desilting work had been undertaken in the lake in the last one month. Following last week’s rain, the dry lake was partially filled up. There was no fencing around the lake to prevent mishaps from occurring. Darshan and Jagadish were taken to the lake by Venkatesh on Wednesday afternoon. An old man stopped them from playing in the water. They then went to the other side of the water body.

While Venkatesh and Darshan got into the water, Jagadish said he was afraid and did not get into the water. Within minutes, he saw the two of them drown in the water, screaming for help. Jagadish ran home to tell his mother what had happened.