Resort owner booked two days after drowning of 7-year-old in swimming pool

Owner of HD Resort in Vasai West booked under IPC section 304 (a) after 7-year-old girl drowns in pool due to negligence. Second incident in May.

Mumbai: The Vasai Gaon police have taken action against the owner of HD Resort in Vasai West following the death of a seven-year-old girl who drowned in the swimming pool. The owner has been booked under section 304 (a) of the Indian Penal Code for death due to negligence, as reported two days after the incident.

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According to the Vasai police, the accident occurred around 1 pm, marking the second such incident involving a child drowning in a Vasai resort in May.

The victim, identified as Sameeksha Jadhav from Bhandup, was visiting the resort with her grandmother and a group of 15 women for a day-long picnic. Despite spending the morning in the pool and water park, during lunchtime Sameeksha sneaked back to the pool unnoticed while the lifeguards were on their break.

Sameeksha’s grandmother realised she was missing and went to search for her. By the time she found Sameeksha, the girl had already begun drowning and was calling for help. Although lifeguards eventually rescued her, she had ingested water and lost consciousness.

The group, accompanied by resort staff, rushed her to Cardinal Gracious Hospital in Vasai West, where she was pronounced dead.

Ranjeet Andhale, the senior police inspector of Vasai police, stated that Sameeksha did not know how to swim and had been under her grandmother’s care since her mother’s departure, as her father lived in the village and her grandmother works as a domestic helper.

Andhale noted that while lifeguards were present and observed Sameeksha in distress, they failed to act until her grandmother alerted them to the situation. The lapse was compounded by non-functional CCTV cameras at the resort.

“Incidentally, it was lunchtime, and the pool is typically closed from 1 pm to 3 pm. Lifeguards should have restricted access during this period, especially without adult supervision. We have booked the resort owner, Roman D’mello, and are conducting further investigations,” said a police inspector from the Vasai police station.