Vijayawada: A tragic incident unfolded on Saturday evening near Thotlavallur mandal in Krishna district, when a man drowned in a water pit while attempting to flee from a police raid on an illegal gambling camp.According to sources, Thotlavallur police received a tip-off about gambling activities taking place in a lanka (island) near Royyuru. A police team raided the area and upon noticing the arrival of the police, the gamblers panicked and attempted to escape on foot, scattering in different directions.Among them were two men from Maddur village in Kankipadu mandal — Odugu Venkateswara Rao and Vallabhaneni Gopala Rao (30). In a desperate bid to evade arrest, both of them jumped into a large water pit along the Krishna riverbank, hoping to swim to safety.While Venkateswara Rao managed to swim to the other side, Gopala Rao struggled in the water. Some onlookers and fellow gamblers jumped into the water to rescue him, but by the time they pulled him out, he already lost his life.The incident cast a pall of gloom over the area. Gopala Rao’s death shocked the local community and his relatives rushed to the spot upon receiving the news and broke down in tears.However, a complaint was registered based on Rao’s wife’s statement that her husband drowned in the river while fishing, and a case of suspicious death (194 BNS) was registered, said sub inspector (SI) Ch Avinash. Gopala Rao’s body was handed over to his family members after postmortem.
