Youth arrested by police for trying to escape drowns in Valankulam lake in Coimbatore

A youth, who was arrested by Ramanathapuram police from Alwin Nagar on Friday night, along with two others, allegedly drowned in Valankulam lake while trying to escape.

The body of Viswa, a daily wage labourer from Ondipudur, was recovered by a team of fire and rescue services.

Viswas, along with Srihari, 18, and Dharaniselvam, 18, students of a private arts and science college in the city, had tried to steal the mobile phone and money of Pasupathi, 19, of Pullukadu when a police patrol team stopped them.

According to police sources, the trio was under the influence of alcohol.

Viswas, after crossing the Sungam-Ukkadam bypass road, had jumped into Valankulam to swim away.

But he gave up due to fatigue halfway. A private security guard witnessed the boy drowning and informed the fire and rescue services.

However, Viswas was dead by the time the team arrived. The body was sent to Coimbatore University Teaching Hospital (CMCH) for post-mortem.

The racecourse police registered a case and handed over the body to the family members after the postmortem.

The Ramanathapuram police have booked the two students under Section 309 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act. The two students were handed over to their parents as they were under the influence of alcohol and were summoned for questioning on Saturday night.