PALL OF GLOOM: Relatives of persons, who were drowned in a tank at Kothapeta in Nalgonda district, wailing on Thursday. — PHOTO: NAGARA GOPAL

NALGONDA: A jolly boat ride after celebrating a party, where liquor was served, proved costly for four persons, who were drowned in Kothapet tank in Kethepally mandal on Wednesday evening. While three bodies were fished out of the deep waters by Thursday night, efforts were on to find out the fourth one till the last reports came in.

According to villagers, one Lingaiah reportedly threw a party for his seven friends in memory of his departed mother. "After consuming liquor, the eight friends set out on a boat ride in the tank," a police officer The Hindu .

According to a version, an attempt made by one of the revellers to catch his mobile phone that slipped from his hands had led to the mishap. "The already overloaded country boat couldn't withstand even a jerk by the person, who bent forward to catch the mobile phone in a hurry," a source said.

A team of expert divers and fishermen called from Kasanagode and Bopparam could fish out the bodies of Ramanarasaiah, Venkataiah and Yadagiri. The efforts to find out the body of Bogala Lingaiah, the former president of Water Users' Association, proved futile. As there were rumours that Lingaiah might have taken to heels after swimming to safety fearing a backlash from the villagers, the authorities stopped the rescue operations.

Dharna staged

Irate relatives of Lingaiah, however, staged a dharna on NH-9 at Kethepally demanding the resumption of rescue operations.

Reacting to the appeals made by the protesters, the Superintendent of Police Vijay Kumar, who was travelling by the route at that time, ordered resumption of the rescue operations. "The boat is still in the deep waters. If we can pull it out, the body would come out," the SP said after visiting the spot on Thursday night.

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