Bengaluru (DHNS) : A 13-year-old boy drowned in the swimming pool of Glitzy Public School in Chunchaghatta on Kothanur Main Road here on Thursday afternoon.
The victim, Gaurav, was a resident of Hosakerehalli and a student of Adams School in the same locality. The management of Glitzy Public School, which runs the swimming centre, allows public to use the pool by charging Rs 40 for 45 minutes.
The management had appointed two lifeguards, Mahendra and Kalegowda, and their office is located right in front of the pool. But the duo were not present at the poolside when the tragedy occurred.
There were no life jackets and other safety measures were not in place, the police said. Swimming coach Raju is said to have quit the job a fortnight ago and at present there is no regular coach on the campus.
On Thursday evening, the school as well as the principal’s residence were found locked when Deccan Herald visited the spot.
Gaurav, his friends Bharath and Pradeep, went to the pool around 12:30 pm. They were accompanied by Bharath’s father Satish (40) who runs a salon. A CCTV footage shows Gaurav swimming comfortably for 45 minutes before drowning, said the police. The minimum depth is about four feet and the maximum is around 6.5 feet. After swimming for 45 minutes, Gaurav moved towards the deeper end of the pool.
Later, an exhausted Gaurav started drowning. Nine others who were swimming in the pool did not notice him drowning. After they came out of the pool around 1:45 pm, they realised that Gaurav was missing.
They then spotted his body in the pool. On being alerted, the police reached the school and shifted Gaurav’s body for post-mortem to KIMS. Later, the body was taken to his native village of Juttenahalli in Chennarayapattana taluk of Hassan district.
The victim’s father, Prabhakar, is a manager at the Bata Showroom in RBI Layout and his mother is a homemaker. Gaurav was their only child.
The police have booked a case of negligence leading to death under IPC Section 304 (A) against the school’s founder principal Usha Naresh. The police said they will arrest Usha, and lifeguards Mahendra and Kalegowda.
