Karimnagar: Four students, including two girls, accidentally drowned in a pond on the premises of the ancient Sri Matsyagirindra Swamy temple at Kotthagattu village in Shankarapatnam mandal on Wednesday.
Husnabad rural inspector Md Gouse Baba said that the deceased were identified as Gollapalli Kiran Kumar, 23, Guggilla Vahini, 22, Lingampalli Swapna, 21, and Kore Sridhar, 23. All of them were residents of Karimnagar and were post-graduate students of the city-based Pragathi computer training institute. It was learnt that they wanted to celebrate Swapna’s birthday on the temple premises.
Police said they drowned while washing their hands and legs before entering the temple at around 2 pm.
Some visitors to the temple noticed the students’ footwear and handbags near the pond and alerted the police. The police found the bodies of the students submerged in the pond.
A police official who visited the site said, “New visitors to the temple cannot assess the pond’s depth. The students may have drowned at its deepest point as they were not aware of its depth.”
The students had asked for permission from Srinivas Reddy, director of the computer training institution, before visiting the temple. Mr Srinivas Reddy was unavailable for comment.
