School boy drowns in Puthukkadu anicut

Coimbatore: A New Year picnic turned fatal for a Class VIII student, who drowned in Puthukkadu anicut near Narasipuram while taking bath on Monday afternoon.
The Alandurai police identified the deceased as M Pugazhenthi, 13, of Velankanni Nagar at Sowripalayam.
According to a police officer, the boy, his parents K Muruganathan and M Maheswari and his brother, along with three neighbouring families, had visited Isha Yoga Centre near Alandurai on Monday afternoon, as part of New Year celebrations.
“Later, they went to the Puthukkadu anicut for taking bath. Murugananthan and Pugazhenthi entered the water along with others. Pugazhenthi, who did not know how to swim, entered deep into the anicut and drowned. Other members of the families tried to rescue the boy, but in vain,” he said.
Local people alerted the Thondamuthur fire service station and the fire brigades and retrieved the body from the water body and sent it to the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital for postmortem.
The Alandurai police have registered a case under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The body was, meanwhile, handed over to the family members after the autopsy on Tuesday.