To win Rs. 2000 youth jumps into pond, loses bet and life

It was a huge pond but for Rs. two thousand offered by his friends if he crossed it, Anil Kumar, a resident of Badka Gaon in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district, about 500 kilometres from here, accepted the challenge.
 
As it happened, Anil lost the bet and also his life. The tragic incident occurred on Monday.
 
According to the reports, four friends of Anil, who were also residents of the same village, offered to pay Anil rs. two thousand if he managed to swim across the pond, which was not only huge but also very deep.
 
Anil, who was said to be in an inebriated state, accepted the challenge and jumped into the pond. Though he knew how to swim, he ran out of steam midway and drowned, the police said.
 
The friends, instead of helping Anil, panicked and fled from there, police sources said. Locals too rushed to the spot on seeing the youth drowning in the pond but they did not gather the courage to jump into the pond.
 
They said that Anil's body was fished out by the divers after several hours.
 
Police said that Anil's three friends have been arrested and a hunt was launched to nab the fourth one, who had been absconding.
 
Sources said that all of them had consumed liquor on the bank of the pond. ''It was not a serious offer...it may have been made by them under the influence of the liquor,'' said a police official in Baghpat.
 
It would be difficult to guess if Anil would have received rs. two thousand if he had crossed the pond.