Mystery shrouds the fate of 11-year-old Yashwanta Chari, who is suspected to have drowned in a storm water drain in Marathahalli on August 25, as neither the police nor the fire and emergency service team have recovered his body. The parents, who have lost hope that their son may be alive, have approached the police for a death certificate. They also want the BBMP to give them some money as compensation. Yashwanta Chari, son of Ramanjaneya Chari, had gone near the drain on August 25 along with his friends. The drain was full after heavy rain and, according to the friends, Yashwanta Chari drowned as he did not know how to swim.
Police and fire personnel began a search operation four days after the incident and have been unsuccessful in fishing out the body. The HAL police, suspect that the boy could have survived and escaped. “The fire and the emergency service has called off the search operations. We suspect that the boy must have escaped from the storm water drain. Probably, he got scared that his parents would scold him for going out for a swim and must have ran away,” said the investigating officer.
The boy’s parents approached the HAL police station for a death certificate and want the BBMP to give them a compensation of Rs 5 lakh. Police however refused to give the certificate stating that unless the body is traced, no certificate can be issued. “When the parents approached us, we told them that till the body is recovered, or there is any clear evidence that the boy is dead, we cannot help them in getting a death certificate”, said the officer.