Four young siblings were drowned in a farm pond in Ajjanakatti village near Gokak on Saturday.
Farmer Kareppa Jakkannanavar has told the police that his children, Bhagavva (6), Tayamma (5), Malappa (4) and Rajashree (2), fell into the farm pond in his family field.
The children were going from their father’s house to their grandfather’s farmhouse.
Their mother left them halfway and went to a hospital, as they used to walk the two-kilometre distance by themselves everyday.
Malappa was carrying a mobile phone which fell into the pond. The children went into the pond to retrieve it and drowned, the farmer told the police.
Their grandmother, Lakkavva, who came to the pond to get some water, saw the bodies and retrieved them with the help of the villagers.
A case has been registered in the Gokak Police Station. Minister and Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi expressed grief over the incident and said that he would provide assistance to the family.
