Five persons, including four from the same family, died on Saturday afternoon after they drowned in a pond near a dargah in Dobbspet in Bengaluru Rural district.
The incident occurred when 14-year-old Usman Khan apparently slipped and fell into the pond, and his three siblings — Reshma (22), Yaarab Khan (21) and Mubbin Taj (21) — jumped in to rescue him. 49-year-old Muneer Khan, who was an autorickshaw driver, also died when he jumped in to save the four siblings. All five were residents of Hegdenagar near Thanisandra.
According to the Dobbspet police, the four had gone to the dargah to offer their prayers, and were near the pond to have food.
The Hindu reported the police and fire and emergency services personnel were alerted by Shakeela, the mother of the deceased siblings. The five had come to the dargah as a planned weekend getaway.
“The group lived in Hegde Nagar on Thanisandra Main Road. After their prayers at the dargah around noon, they cooked food at the spot. Between noon and 12.30 p.m., Usman ventured near the pond, slipped and fell in. His brother Yaarab jumped into the water to save him, but he too was seen struggling to stay afloat. When they saw their brothers struggling in the water, Reshma and Mubeen Taj also jumped into the water. All four did not know how to swim. At this point, Muneer tried to rescue them, but in vain,” a police source told The Hindu.
“The incident occurred at 12.30pm. Muneer Khan’s brother screamed for help but they could not be rescued as there were no people around. Later, villagers got to know about the incident and alerted the police. The rescue team of fire and emergency service was called in and all the five bodies were fished out with the help of local divers. The bodies were handed over to their families after post mortem,” a police official told The New Indian Express.
Following the incident, Bengaluru Rural Superintendent of Police Ram Nivas Sepat visited the accident spot and asked the district administration to fence the pond and erect warning boards.