Man 'pushes' daughter into lake, ends life

A man committed suicide by jumping into Dadadahalli Lake near Udbur village, in Mysuru taluk, after pushing his daughter to death, on Monday.

Though the incident came to light the same evening, relatives and villagers were anxious as the operation to trace the bodies did not yield results even till Tuesday evening. The operation will resume on Wednesday.

The deceased have been identified as Raju, 35, son of Huchchaiah, and a daily wager, and his nine-year-old daughter Spoorthi, of Udbur. Raju had married Shilpa of Harohalli and had two children, Spoorthi and Prajwal, aged six. Spoorthi was studying in Class IV at Government Higher Primary School at the village.

Quoting Prajwal, a police personnel attached to South station said, “Raju had taken his two children to the lake on Monday early morning, on the pretext of washing the motorbike. After reaching the lake, Raju parked the vehicle on the bund, and started to take his children towards the water, partly covered with water hyacinth. Raju was hugging his children tightly. Prajwal, who broke loose, escaped and ran towards the bund, while Raju continued to walk towards the water with his daughter”.

Even as Prajwal was watching his father from the bund, the latter pushed Spoorthi into water and started rushing towards his son. Prajwal bolted, forcing Raju to let him away. After running a distance, Prajwal stopped to watch his father again. Even as he was watching, Raju jumped into the water.

Petrified, Prajwal ran towards the village and informed his mother Shilpa, who was at home. Shilpa brought the matter to notice of village elders, who subsequently informed the police personnel.

Police said, it could be a family dispute or a property row, that may have forced Raju to take the extreme step. On Sunday, Raju had taken his wife to his in-law’s place and returned the same evening. Though he returned home, he stayed overnight at his brother’s house, leaving behind his wife and children at his house.

Operation in vain
According to Regional Fire Officer Eshwar Naik, as many as 13 fire personnel took part in the operation to retrieve the bodies, but to no avail. The operation will resume on Wednesday.

Assistant Commissioner (Mysuru sub-division) Anand, DySP (South) Vikram Amate, PSI Mahesh supervised the operation.
DH News Service