A 17-year-old Class XII student drowned in a pond where he went for a bath after a game of football with friends in Behala on Sunday morning.
Souvik Pramanik, a resident of Jai Krishna Pal Road in Sahapur, went to play football with his friends at the Islamia ground near Behala on Sunday morning, police said.
“After the game, they went to take a bath in a pond at Aurobindo Pally, not far from the playground. Around 9.15am, Souvik reportedly started drowning,” said an officer of Parnasree police station.
His friends, who were outside the water, raised an alarm and called neighbours. Some of the neighbours plunged into the water to save the teenager.
“I saw from my balcony that two men were in the middle of the pond and searching for someone. In a few minutes, they managed to drag the youth out of the water, holding him by his hair. He was senseless,” said a resident of the locality.
He was taken to Vidyasagar State General Hospital where he was declared dead.
The police said they had started an unnatural death case.
The boy’s family accused his friends of negligence but no formal complaint was lodged with the police till late on Sunday evening.
“Souvik was a good swimmer. How could a swimmer like him drown? We are also very shocked that his friends could not do anything when he was sinking,” said one of his family members on Sunday.
“We want a thorough investigation into the matter,” she said.