Police Say Charitable Trust Did Not Seek Permission
Two were rescued, while six drowned.
Hyderabad:Police said the management of Sirisha Memorial Charitable Trust had not obtained permission for the Ganesh idol immersion during which six students drowned at Peddakanjerla, under the Patancheru police station limits, on Wednesday.
Eight students entered Neredukunta Cheruvu to immerse the idol and got into difficulty in deep water. Two were rescued, while six drowned.
A source told Deccan Chronicle that the incident occurred around 5.30 pm when a group of students from the trust went to the lake, located close to its premises, for the third-day immersion.
Eight students entered the lake carrying the idol. They reportedly stepped into deep pockets in the lake bed and began drowning. Other students and workers from a nearby construction site rushed to their aid and rescued two of them.
Police said the trust management had not informed them about the immersion or obtained permission.
An officer said the police had to be informed about the immersion of any idol measuring three feet or more. A website had been created for this purpose so that police could make necessary arrangements and provide assistance along the route to the immersion point, he said.
According to the source, the trust had installed the idol on its premises but did not seek permission for its immersion.
The trust’s warden accompanied the students to Neredukunta Cheruvu and was present during the immersion but did not enter the water to supervise the process.
Police are likely to initiate proceedings under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which deals with inquiries into unnatural, sudden or suspicious deaths.
An officer described the incident as accidental. Pointing out that the area was remote, he said only 13 idol immersions had taken place there last year and Wednesday’s immersion was the first this year.
In a post on X, Patancheru MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy said Krishnam Raju, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh, had established the Sirisha Memorial Charitable Trust at Peddakanjerla 25 years ago in memory of his daughter Sirisha.
Every year, the trust supports the education of more than 75 to 100 students, from primary school to engineering, helping them pursue their goals, the MLA said.
