Ghaziabad: Four-year-old dies after falling into open drain while playing with brother

The body was traced around 2.30 am on Friday when earthmover machines were pressed into service to dig out the waste

A 4-year-old boy died after he fell into an open drain choked with garbage near his residence behind the RED Mall in Ghaziabad on Thursday afternoon. The CCTV footage drew the police to the incident and a search was launched for the boy.

The boy’s relatives at their home in Chaman Vihar, behind the new bus stand in Ghaziabad. (Sakib Ali /HT Photo)

The body was traced around 2.30 am on Friday when earthmover machines were pressed into service to dig out the waste. The incident took place at Chaman Vihar, behind the new bus stand, where the victim Uzair and his elder brother Rehan, 7, had gone out to play. The latter had returned from the madarsa he studies in.

The body was traced around 2.30 am on Friday when earthmover machines were pressed into service to dig out the waste. (Sakib Ali /HT Photo)

“My son went missing around 4.30 pm on Thursday and could not be traced. Everyone in the locality stepped out to look for him, but there was no word on his whereabouts till late night. Then, we scanned the CCTV of our neighbours in which both brothers were seen walking towards the drain. After some time, only Rehan was seen returning alone and Uzair was missing. We sensed that he probably fell into the drain and drowned,” Mohammad Naushad, the father of the 4-year-old, said.

Four-year-old Uzair was playing with his brother when he fell into drain. He was one of three siblings. (HT Photo)

Some of the locals also found the slippers of the boy near the drain and informed his family. After the locals called up police and other officials, a search was launched and earthmovers were brought in. While clearing the pile of garbage that had clogged the 5-foot drain from the locality towards the Sai Upvan area, the child’s body was traced and pulled out.

“He probably did not realise that the drain hadn’t dried up and may have walked over the garbage and fell inside. His body was pulled out along with the garbage. There have been several instances where locals have suffered injuries after falling into open drains, but they continue to remain uncovered,” he added.

While clearing the pile of garbage that had clogged the 5-foot drain from the locality towards the Sai Upvan area, the child’s body was traced and pulled out. (HT Photo)

Uzair was the one of the three siblings. His sister Ikra is eight-years-old. Their father, Naushad, runs a small fabric business. The family refused to get post-mortem done and gave their boy a burial on Friday.

Around a fortnight ago, a 3-year-old girl fell into an open drain in Sudama Puri, Vijay Nagar locality and died in a similar manner. The girl too had gone missing from outside her house and walked into an open drain.