Bridegroom, 3 kin drown before wedding

SOMWARPET: In a heartrending incident, a bridegroom and three others drowned in Cauvery river on Friday before the wedding.
Shivanna, 27,a native of Koppa was to marry Lakshmi, 22, of Bettangala Banavara near Kanive village, 7 km away from Kushalnagar.
The marriage ceremony was to be held at at Ramalingeshwaraswamy Temple near Cauvery river in Kanive on Friday.
Shivanna and his relatives reached the temple on Thursday to complete some rituals.
On Friday, the marriage hall was busy with people preparing for the marriage.
Meanwhile, Shivanna’s relative Preethi, 8, went to the river to wash her face.
It is said that Preethi slipped and fell into the river. Her mother Neela, 35, immediately jumped into the river save her. To save them both, bridegroom’s mother Nirmala, 48, too followed suit.
Hearing their screams, Shivanna rushed to the spot and suddenly jumped into the water, but none of them could make it to the shore.
Their bodies were later fished out, and an autopsy was conducted in Kushalnagar Government Hospital.
MLA M P Appachu Ranjan visited the family of the deceased, and promised a compensation of `50,000 to each of the family of the deceased.
Tahsildar K R Bhaskar and sub-inspector Chikkappa visited spot. Kushalnagar police have registered a case. The deaths of the four shocked the entire village.
One villager, Rangappa said hundreds of marriages had taken place in the temple.
He added that every year, thousands of devotees thronged the temple for the annual car festival.
But such a tragic incident had never happened, he said