Two more students' bodies recovered from Ramanathapura Lake

The bodies of two more students, who were allegedly drowned in Ramanathapura Lake near Devanahalli, were recovered on Monday.

According to the police, the bodies of 19-year-old Shaikh Tahir and 19-year-old Touheed Ahmed were retrieved around 8 am. The bodies of two other students, 19-year-old Faisal Khan and 18-year-old Mohammed Israr, were found on Sunday night.

All the victims were PUC students and residents of Chamundi Nagar near Hebbal.

Israr, along with his neighbors Tahir, Ahmed, and Khan, set off for Nandi Hills on two motorcycles at around 5 am on Sunday. They posted a selfie from Nandi Hills as their WhatsApp status around 10 am. An hour later, they uploaded another photo in front of a lake.

Also Read | Four dead after tourist boat capsizes on Italy's Lake Maggiore

As they did not return home by 3 pm, Israr's uncle Ahamed Hussain and family members attempted to contact him on his mobile phone, but it was switched off. The phones of the other three youths were also turned off.

The boys' family members began searching for them in Nandi Hills, Nandi Cross, Chikkaballapur, and the surrounding areas. They showed a photo uploaded in the WhatsApp status to the public and identified it as Ramanathapura Lake.

Around 6 pm, they arrived at the lake and discovered two motorcycles parked on the lakeside, along with four pairs of shoes and two sets of clothes. Suspecting that the boys had drowned in the lake, they informed the Vishwanathapura police. The police, accompanied by fire and emergency officials, rushed to the scene.

Israr and Khan's bodies were recovered by 8 pm. Their phones were found in their trouser pockets.

The operation was halted at around 10:30 pm due to darkness. In the morning, two additional bodies were discovered, as reported by a senior officer. After post-mortem examinations, all four bodies were handed over to their respective families.

Hussain informed the police that none of the four boys knew how to swim. They arrived at the lake around 11 am and drowned.

Police discovered that the boys had called their family members before leaving Nandi Hills and informed them that they would have breakfast at a nearby eatery and return home later.

Based on circumstantial evidence, the police suspect that Tahir and Ahmed initially undressed and entered the lake for a bath. As they began to drown, Israr and Khan jumped in to rescue them but tragically drowned as well. The water level in the lake was approximately 15 feet.

A case of unnatural death has been registered by the police, who are awaiting the autopsy reports to determine if the youths had consumed drugs or alcohol.