Photo-shoot at a stone quarry pond at Ghatkesar on city outskirts by five Intermediate first year students ended in tragedy when two of them drowned in it on Thursday.
Police, with the help of locals, retrieved the bodies of Avinash and P.D.S. Charan, both aged about 16 years. The two teenagers, along with their friends B. Bharath, 17, K. Vamshi, 16, and K. Nikhil, 18, left their homes for Ghatkesar in the morning.
All were first year students of Narayana Junior College, Tarnaka. “We are not yet sure why they chose the stone quarry pond at Ghatkesar. They went there by bus,” Ghatkesar Inspector B. Prakash said.
They had three mobile phones with them. They also rented a camera comprising memory card and used it to click pictures. After taking some pictures at different locations, they went to the quarry’s main gate and tried to enter it around 11 a.m.
“Apparently, they wanted to take some photos standing close to the pond. The security guard denied them entry saying it was closed to outsiders,” the Inspector said. After trying in vain to convince him, the students left the place.
But, they went around and managed to reach the pond from the rear side without attracting the attention of the security guard. Avinash and Charan reportedly told the other three that they knew swimming and wanted to enjoy the time by entering the water in the pond, the police said.
The other three, police said, initially warned the duo against entering the pond but couldn’t stop them beyond a point. Avinash and Charan took out their shirts and entered the water. The other three clicked pictures of them.
Ponds formed at stone quarry are not uniform in shape. They are flat at some points but also have steep edges, said the police. Suddenly, the two teenagers slipped into deep water and started shouting for help, waving their hands.
Bharath, Vamshi and Nikhil, who didn't know swimming, were helpless. They ran to the security guard, who was nearly 300 yards away, screaming for help.
By the time they returned with the guard, the two had drowned. Police reached the spot and fished out the bodies. A case of unnatural deaths was registered under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
