A 27-year-old man drowned after his friend pushed him into a well, allegedly for fun, while other people in the group recorded the incident on their phones. The alleged incident took place on Saturday at Tavarekere. One person has been arrested for murder, and five others were questioned by the police.
“The victim, Lakshmikanth, did not know how to swim, and drowned. He was a resident of Hebbur and worked in an electronics showroom at Machohalli,” said a police officer.
According to the police, the victim went to Tavarekere on Friday evening along with six of his friends. The next morning, they went to Thagachaguppe, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, and decided to bathe in an open well. Lakshmikanth's friend Balaram pushed him into the well while the rest of the group recorded it.
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It was only when Lakshmikanth started crying for help that they realised he was drowning. “They tried to rescue him but when they realised they couldn’t help him, five of the friends tried to flee from the spot. Meanwhile, Balaram approached some villagers for help, but it was too late,” said a police officer.
Paramesh, a witness, informed the police that the group had arrived in a car and stopped at the well. “In his statement, he said they were sitting on the edge of the well for about half-an-hour before they started screaming for help. When he went to investigate, Paramesh saw Lakshmikanth stuck in silt,” said the police.
Angry villagers caught four of the friends and handed them over to the police. A case of murder has been filed against Balaram, a resident of Gollarapalya who works as a cab driver.
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