There were over 300 students from three schools in the city frolicking in the swimming pool of Residential Holiday Resort in Nelamangala on Saturday afternoon. It was not until all the children left the pool for lunch that an attendant noticed nine-year-old Tejas floating face down. By the time he was pulled out, it was all over for the Class 3 student of Mother Theresa School in Jalahalli.
Eyewitnesses told the police that all the children his age were treading water where it was only three feet deep but Tejas ventured beyond. “There was nobody from the school or the resort monitoring the children,” said a police officer attached to the Nelamangala (Rural) police station.
The boy's father, K.S. Harish, an auto driver, and mother, Uma, were inconsolable as they were called to the mortuary to identify their son.
“We cut down on our expenses to send our son to a good private school. I borrowed money to send him on this outing,” Mr. Harish wailed. The police later said that the resort management had hired no one trained for such an emergency. A case of negligence has been booked against the school management and the resort owners.
