Crocodile Kills 55-Year-Old Farmer In Bheema River In Narayanpet
The incident occurred when Thimappa was checking pipeline valve to draw water from river
Hyderabad: A 55-year-old farmer Ginka Thimappa was killed by a crocodile in Bheema River at his Kusummurthy village in Narayanpet district of Telangana on Saturday afternoon, while another villager Shivappa Gowda escaped miraculously in the incident.
Accompanied by Shivappa, Thimappa went to his agricultural land abutting the Bheema River. He was checking the pipeline valve connected to the electrical motor to draw water from the river when the crocodile came from behind and attacked him around 2.15 pm.
On seeing this, Shivappa raised an alarm but to no avail. He then rushed to the village and alerted Thimappa’s family. The family members with the help of other villagers came to the spot to trace Thimappa. After half-an-hour, the villagers noticed Thimappa’s body in the crocodile's mouth, dragging into the water.
The shell-shocked villagers screamed loudly with a hope that the crocodile would leave the body. Fearing that the villagers would attack, the crocodile went deep into the water. Since then the villagers were searching for Thimappa’s body.
After receiving information about the incident, the Krishna police in Narayanpet district rushed to the spot and coordinated with the villagers to fish out the body.
Makthal Circle Inspector K Ramlal told Deccan Chronicle on Sunday that efforts were on to trace the body and added that the help of the Forest department was also sought in retrieving the body. Usually, the crocodiles have a tendency of dumping flesh pieces near the rocks abutting the riverbed to consume it after it becomes decomposed, he explained.
Following the incident, the villagers were frightened to do their regular farming activity near the river. In fact, Thimappa went to the field to gear up for the forthcoming Rabi crop season and accordingly checked the valve to draw water from the pipe connected to the river.
Krishna Sub-Inspector SM Naveed said the expert swimmers in Kusummurthy village and adjoining villages were frightened to enter the river to fish out the body. “We roped in swimmers from Sirpur village on the bordering Karnataka to retrieve the body using nets. But it turned futile.
“It’s a regular practice for villagers to draw from the river. In a couple of incidents reported earlier, villagers escaped with injuries. But this time it proved fatal for Thimappa,” he explained, adding that Thimappa was survived by wife, two sons and a daughter.