12-year-old drowns in school swimming pool in Delhi’s Narela

The victim, a class 5 student, was identified as Rajab by the police and lived in Kureni village in Narela with his parents

A 12-year-old boy drowned in a swimming pool at a private school in outer Delhi’s Narela on Monday evening, said police officers associated with the case.

Police said that based on initial information, the boy entered the five-foot-deep part of the pool instead of the three-foot-deep area. (Representational Image/Getty Images)

The victim, a class 5 student, was identified as Rajab by the police and lived in Kureni village in Narela with his parents.

According to the police, the school’s swimming pool was reserved for students during the day and for visitors in the evening. The boy was not a student at the school and was among the visitors who paid to use the institute’s swimming pool in the evenings to take swimming lessons, according to Ravi Kumar Singh, deputy commissioner of police (outer-north). He came to the pool with his 19-year-old cousin, said police officers.

According to the police, they received a call from Satya Raja Harish Chandra Hospital in Narela about a boy getting admitted after drowning in a pool. However, doctors pronounced him brought dead.

Police said that based on initial information, the boy entered the five-foot-deep part of the pool instead of the three-foot-deep area.

According to DCP Singh, a first information report is being registered against the school authorities for causing death due to negligence. “Even if lifeguards were present at the pool, we are investigating whether they were qualified to prevent the death,” Singh said. However, the DCP said prima facie lifeguards were at the pool.

The DCP added that the pool’s management was present at the spot at the time of the death.

HT’s attempts to contact the school via phone, text, and email were unsuccessful.