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It was the end of the world for the father

Last Updated 14 April 2011, 18:51 IST
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For Ramesh, the world came crashing down when he heard his 14-year-old son, Arjun, had died after drowning in a swimming poll at a resort in Devanahalli taluk.

The entire family was in a state of shock, even as Preethi, Arjun’s younger sister, tried hard to come to terms with her brother’s death. Sitting beside the body at their house in Gollara Beedi, Devanahalli town, she was a picture of unspeakable grief as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“He was very friendly with me and we shared a great bond,” she told Deccan Herald with a heart-breaking face. According to her, Arjun was extremely happy when he secured a first class in his ninth standard examination, results of which were declared three days ago. “We distributed sweets in our neighbourhood. He was a very good brother and my parents loved him the most,” she says, her voice choking.

When asked if her brother knew swimming, Preethi tersely replied: “Today was the first time he ever tried it.”

Ramesh, employed with G4S Security, said he didn’t have even the faintest idea that he was speaking to his beloved son the last time when he called him at 10 am.

While the father somehow managed to accept the situation and hide his grief to some extent, the mother, in contrast, was in a state of denial and remained inconsolable.

Some of the parents whose children went along with Arjun, however, claimed that he knew swimming. “He kept swimming even after other children came out of the pool. Later, he complained of chest pain. That was when he was rushed to the hospital.”

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(Published 14 April 2011, 18:42 IST)

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