Bank employee, her parents drown to death after car plunges into lake, Karnataka police initiate probe after locals allege foul play

He alleged that his wife lost control of the car while driving it on the lake bund. The family was headed to a temple.

Yamuna D, a 30-year-old woman (an engineer who worked at a private bank), her father Doddanna, 75, and mother Sanamma, 70, all residents of the Veerapura village in the Sira region of Tumkur and Yamuna’s husband Praveen K, a medical shop owner in Sira, were travelling together.

The family was around 60 km away from Bengaluru when the accident took place between 3 am and 5 am.

“We have registered a case of accident under Section 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code as of now but the investigation is on from other angles too because some locals have raised suspicions,” said a police officer.

The officer added, “There are questions being raised about how the car plunged into the lake precisely through a small 10 metre gap which was not barricaded.”

Krishnamurthy, a resident of the Ramalingapura village, told the police, “When I was walking on the tank bund around 6 am, I heard someone calling out for help. I saw a man in the water and jumped into the water and brought him to the shore. He had minor injuries on his hands and legs.”

According to Krishnamurthy’s statement to the police, the survivor of the crash identified himself as Praveen, a medical store owner from Mekerahalli in Sira. He told Krishnamurthy that he was traveling with his wife and in-laws to the Dharamasthala temple in Dakshina Kannada when the accident occurred.

As per Praveen K’s statement, the family set out from the Veerapura village around 3 am in a Maruti Alto car that he had borrowed from a friend for the pilgrimage. On their way, the family stopped at the Manamma Temple in Sira and carried out prayers after which his wife Yamuna insisted on driving the car.

The police officer said, “The priest at the temple they visited before the accident has acknowledged the visit by the family.”

The officer added, the fire department and local villagers pulled out the car from the bottom of the lake and also fished out the bodies of Yamuna and her parents.

Yamuna’s relatives have told the police that she was the only daughter of her parents and was born after nearly 24 years of their marriage.

Yamuna and Praveen’s families knew each other. The couple had no children and were thus headed to the temple to pray for a child.

Yamuna worked in Bengaluru but often visited her parents who had a small agricultural land parcel in Sira, the relatives said. Her husband used to live in Bengaluru but recently moved to Sira after setting up his medical shop.