Four dead after car falls into canal in Mandya, say police

Police said the car was heading from Gamanahalli to Bannur when it fell into the Vishveshwaraiah canal

Four people including a minor girl died on the spot when a car in which they were travelling in fell into a canal at Gamanahalli in Srirangapatna taluk of Mandya district on Saturday night, officials said.

All were going to visit relatives for a function at their house (Representational Image)

The deceased were identified as Sanjana (17), Mamatha (45), Mahadevamma (55) and Rekha (36). Mahadevamma is a native of Gamanahalli village in Malavalli taluk, while Rekha, Sanjana and Mamata are natives of Goravanahalli in Bannur taluk.

Police said the car was heading from Gamanahalli to Bannur when it fell into the Vishveshwaraiah canal. Police said that three women, including a girl, who were in the car drowned in the water. All were going to visit relatives for a function at their house.

The driver of the car, Manoj, was injured and admitted to the Srirangapatna government hospital. On hearing the news, thousands of villagers gathered on the spot, and pulled out the dead bodies from the canal.

Mahadevamma of Gamanahalli village had organized a pooja at Adichunchanagiri on Sunday and arranged for lunch. Her close relatives from Bannur taluk had come a day earlier for that. Mahadevamma had left in a car along with Mamata, Rekha and Sanjana to invite the relatives of the neighboring Doddamulagudu village for the event. While going up the canal from the village, the driver lost control and the car overturned.

As the car fell into the canal, the driver Manoj swam to the shore. Manoj broke his leg while coming out of the car. Mahadevamma, Mamata, Rekha, Sanjana, who did not know how to swim, drowned in the water.

Mandya SP N. Yatish, Srirangapatna MLA Rameshbabu Bandissidde Gowda went to the spot, conducted an inspection, and sent the dead bodies to the Mandya institute of medical sciences hospital mortuary. The bodies were handed over to the family after a postmortem on Sunday. While the family members took the bodies of Mamata, Rekha and Sanjana to Goravanahalli, Mahadevamma was cremated at Gamanahalli itself.

‘’The driver of the car lost control and the car fell into the canal. The road is good. The mishap might have occurred due to the speed of the driver,” Mandya SP N Yetish told HT. He said that though there was a metal barricade on the road, the negligence caused the mishap. He said a case has been registered at Arakere police station.

Mandya district in charge minister N Cheluvarayaswamy visited the spot and consoled the family members on Sunday. He announced that the state government would provide ₹2 lakh compensation each to the family of the deceased. He also gave ₹50,000 each to the family as his personal contribution.