4 students drown in temple pond

Karimnagar: Four college students, including two girls, were found dead under suspicious circumstances in koneru (temple pond) of Sri Matsyagirindraswamy temple at Kothagattu village in Shankarapatnam mandal on Wednesday evening. Police suspect the four might have drowned in the tank accidentally. Police identified the victims as Kothapalli Kiran, 22, Gorre Sridhar, 22, residents of Kothirampur area of Karimnagar town, Guggilla Vahini, 21, and Lingampalli Swapna, 21, of Kisanpur.

Devotees who found the bodies in the water alerted the temple authorities who reported the matter to police who fished out the bodies. The bodies were identified on the basis of mobile phones and ID cards found on the bank of the tank and parents were informed. According to the locals, the four reached the temple on two motor bikes in the afternoon and had a darshan.

Earlier, they also visited Anjaneyaswamy temple. It is learnt that deceased students, who were pursuing a computer course in a private computer institute in Karimnagar town, went to Kothagattu temple to celebrate the birthday of one of the deceased, Swapna. Huzurabad Rural CI Gous Babu said that the students fell in the tank accidentally and drowned as they did not know swimming. Bodies were shifted to Huzurabad government hospital for autopsy.