12-year-old drowns, civic bodies start blame game

A 12-year-old boy drowned in a pit in South Delhi on Monday. The pit was allegedly dug by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) over a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) pipeline.

A 12-year-old boy drowned in a pit in South Delhi on Monday. The pit was allegedly dug by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) over a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) pipeline.

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Twelve-year-old Sunny was out playing Holi with his friend when he wandered off to the ridge area next to a drain in Panchsheel Enclave and slipped. He fell into the 25-feet-deep pit and died. More than 24 hours later, none of the civic agencies is willing to accept responsibility.

The Case

The police claim Sunny, a resident of Chirag Dilli village, was playing with friend Jiten. Around 4.40 p.m., the police were called in.

“They were celebrating Holi. Around 4 p.m. they reached the ridge area next to the Panchsheel enclave drain. They were standing very close to the pit and suddenly Sunny slipped and fell into the water,” said a senior police officer on the condition of anonymity.

Jiten tried to save Sunny but failed and rushed to his brothers in Chirag Delhi Village, police said.

“He came rushing to us and said, ‘my brother is drowning’. We called the police and ran to the spot. But by the time we were able to reach he had already disappeared into water,” said Jagdish Kumar, Sunny’s father.

Fire officials reached the spot with their divers and fished out the body by 5.10 p.m.

Protest on BRT

The family of the deceased blocked the BRT stretch nearby, leading to a a traffic jam.

They alleged there were no signboards around the pit.

“My brother was killed because civic agencies forgot to fill up the ditch they dug,” said Raj Kumar, Sunny’s brother. Local residents blocked the BRT again on Tuesday morning. Senior policemen were forced to step in and promise speedy investigations before the people left the spot.