Three Bengaluru pharma students hold photoshoot by waterfall, drown

CHIKKABALLAPUR: Three pharmacy students from a Bengaluru college drowned in Srinivasa Sagara dam near Chikkaballapur on Saturday.
According to police, the students were busy clicking pictures when tragedy struck and three of the six youths drowned in the backwaters.
The deceased are Imran Pasha, Pooja and Radhika, all aged around 21 and studying in Karnataka College of Pharmacy at Hegde Nagar in northeast Bengaluru. "The deceased students along with their friends - Bikash, Chenna Ramu and Suneetha - had arrived at the reservoir this (Saturday) morning on three bikes. After spending a few hours at the dam, the students decided to go towards Gurukula Nagenahalli where a waterfall is situated on the backside of the dam," a cop said.
On reaching the waterfall, the group decided to hold a photoshoot against the backdrop of the backwaters. "Initially, Imran, Radhika and Pooja entered the water to click some pictures. While they were busy taking pictures, Pooja slipped and fell into the deep water. As she shouted for help, both Imran and Radhika waded in. But the water was deep and they lost balance and drowned," the police officer explained. The other three students were dumbstruck upon witnessing the tragedy unfold.
Dr Ramesh, director of the college, told STOI that all six students were awaiting the results of their first-year exams. While Imran Pasha was a resident of Nagavara, Pooja was living with her family at Lingarajapuram in Bengaluru. Radhika was a native of Mumbai. The three other students were also residents of Bengaluru.
Chikkaballapur Rural police have taken up a case and are investigating.
Picturesque getaway
Srinivasa Sagara dam is an attraction and despite authorities warning visitors not to venture into the water, many turn a deaf ear. A medical student and another youth had drowned at the same site last September. On May 23 last year, one youth who tried to scale the dam fell down after making it 30ft up and sustained serious injuries