Vijayawada: Vijayawada woke up on Sunday to the death of three Intermediate students who drowned in Krishna River at Sitangaram of Tadepalli mandal of Guntur district.
The girls B. Pallavi, Y. Naga Lakshmi and Pujitha who are 17-years-old each, belong to Penamaluru mandal of Krishna district.
Parents of the girls were shocked as the trio who was missing since Saturday afternoon was fished out from Krishna River near the Prakasam barrage.
According to police, the girls came Krishna riverbed on Saturday morning near Sitanagaram of Tadepalli.
The girls who were seen till evening in the area were found missing while their bags, dupattas and footwear were left on the bank of river.
Police on Sunday early morning fished out their bodies from the spot they drowned. “The deaths were clearly due to drowning in the river and we are investigating whether it is accident or a suicide,” said Mr B. Hari Krishna, inspector of Mangalagiri rural police station. The girls did not attend college on Saturday and had bunked class. The parents started searching for the girls from Saturday after they were informed by the college. However, they learned about the mishap from police on Sunday.
Meanwhile, a piece of paper on which it was inscribed ‘Lakshmi, Pujitha and Pallavi must be invited for sister’s marriage’ was found in the bag of one of the students. It raised suspicion of a suicide. However, police said it might be just a slip used by the students to communicate in the classroom. Also, a Durga Temple’s darshanam tickets were found in the bag.
The girls were studying second inter in Sri Chaitanya College on MG Road. Bodies were sent to post-mortem and GGH, Vijayawada after which they were handed over to parents.
Pallavi survived by his father Ram Babu who is an electrician and mother Vanaja, Naga Lakshmi survived by parents Srinivasa Rao and Madhavi and Pujitha has no father and survived with mother Siva Naga lakshmi.
Police registered case under CrPc section 174 as suspicious death by drowning.
