Boy, 7, drowns in Ghaziabad pond while trying to catch kites

The boy had gone to the cremation ground in Budh Vihar locality with four to five other children around 6-7pm, according to his family and investigators

A seven-year-old boy drowned in a pond inside a cremation ground in Ghaziabad’s Loni on Sunday evening while trying to catch kites with friends, police said on Monday after his body was recovered.

The ACP said the cremation ground gate has been unsecured for the past 10 years and was open, allowing the boys to enter. “The boy’s body was fished out around 4pm. His family refused his autopsy,” he said. (Saki Ali/HT Photo)

The boy had gone to the cremation ground in Budh Vihar locality with four to five other children around 6-7pm, according to his family and investigators. When he went missing, the other boys informed his family, who approached police.

“The boys visited Dabar Talab, which is about 30-40 feet deep, for catching kites. In the process, the seven-year-old may have gone inside the pond, which also has muck, but could not come out. The other boys who accompanied him later informed his family that he went missing,” said Siddharth Gautam, assistant commissioner of police (Loni circle).

“We roped in local divers, teams from the flood unit of the Pradeshik Armed Constabulary (PAC), and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for the search. The operation continued late Sunday night and resumed early Monday. The body was found about nine metres from the edge of the pond,” Gautam added.

The ACP said the cremation ground gate has been unsecured for the past 10 years and was open, allowing the boys to enter. “The boy’s body was fished out around 4pm. His family refused his autopsy,” he said.

Mohammad Arif, the boy’s father, said, “I had just admitted him to a government school. He was to attend tuition at 6pm. He left home around 5:30pm. Since he was trying to catch kites with friends, his mother did not object. She thought he would play for some time and then head off for tuition. But when his teacher called, we learned he did not go there.”

“We went out searching for him and found his friends. They told us about the incident. We also found his slippers near the pond,” he added.