Delhi: 9-yr-old drowns in water tank of construction site; 1 arrested

A boy drowned in an uncovered water tank at a construction site in Delhi; the plot owner has been arrested. The incident reportedly occurred around 1pm.

A nine-year-old boy allegedly drowned after accidentally falling into an uncovered water tank at an under-construction building in southeast Delhi’s Govindpuri on April 8, police said on Sunday, adding that the owner of the plot has been arrested in connection with the incident.

The owner of the under-construction property, a resident of Tughlakabad Village, was arrested on April 9 connection with the incident.

Deputy commissioner of police (south east) Hemant Tiwari said the deceased was identified as Shreyansh Kumar, a resident of Tughlakabad Village, a Class 4 student at a government school.

According to a senior police officer, the incident came to light on April 8 when Govindpuri police station received information from Batra Hospital regarding the death of the child. “The child was brought dead to the hospital after drowning in a water tank located at an under-construction site,” the officer said.

Preliminary inquiry revealed that the incident occurred around 1pm when Shreyansh was returning home from school. He handed over his school bag to his 11-year-old sister, who studies at the same school, and went off to play with two classmates despite her objections.

“Apparently trying to avoid being seen by his sister, the boy and one of his friends entered an under-construction premises in the village. Due to poor lighting conditions inside, he failed to notice a nearly seven-foot-deep water tank and fell into it,” the officer added. Adequate measures had not been taken to cover the water container.

The victim’s friends raised an alarm, following which his father rushed to the spot, pulled him out of the tank and attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). He was then taken to Batra Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

Police said a case has been registered based on the father’s complaint. “An FIR under Sections 290 (negligent conduct during building construction) and 106 (causing death by rash or negligent acts) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered, and investigation is underway,” the senior officer said, adding that no foul play has been suspected so far.

The owner of the under-construction property, a resident of Tughlakabad Village, was arrested onApril 9 connection with the incident.

Speaking to HT, the victim’sfather, Surender Kumar who runs a tea kiosk in the neighbourhood, said that, on Wednesday, he dropped his son to school around 7:30am. “My daughter Rashi, 11, returned from school around 12:30pm and around 1pm went to bring Shreyansh home because I had taken my wife to the doctor for a check-up,” the 30-year-old said.

Surender said that, when Rashi reached the school, his friends told her that Shreyansh had gone to play with two of them. He added that Shreyansh loved playing with his friends after school and would often remove his uniform and wear casual clothes that he kept on underneath.

“Someone told my daughter that he had gone to play inside a building about five minutes away from the school and on the way home,” he said.

When Rashi entered the building, she saw two of his friends but not Shreyansh. “They also did not tell anyone that he had fallen. Rashi left and came home,” he said.

One of the two friends who were with Shreyansh later came home and informed the family that he had fallen into the water tank. “We ran and saw that the area was pitch dark. I managed to get inside the eight to nine-foot-deep tank using a long plywood plank and saw Shreyansh floating. I pulled him out and white froth was coming out of his mouth,” the father said.

The father, with the help of locals, rushed him to a nearby private facility where he was declared dead.

Surender said the family is still unclear about what exactly happened. “The friend who came to inform us was not there at the time of the incident but came later. The friend who was present did not inform us. We don’t know what happened — whether he fell accidentally or was pushed,” he said.