NEW DELHI: Two minor boys, aged nine and 11, drowned in a rainwater-filled pit near DDA flats in Delhi’s Narela area on Thursday, police said. According to police, the two children, residents of Bawana, had gone to the area to play and entered the pit, which was filled with rainwater.
Police received information about the drowning and rushed to the spot. The children were pulled out with the help of local residents and taken to Satyawadi Raja Harish Chandra Hospital in Narela, where doctors declared them brought dead, a senior police officer said. The bodies were sent for medico-legal proceedings and further investigation is underway.
A family member said one of the boys had left home around 10 am after taking money from his father, who works as a labourer, to buy candies. The boy was a Class 5 student.
The mother of the other child said she was away at work when she received a call from local residents informing her that her son had drowned. “He went for tuition at around 10 am. I was calling to find out whether he had returned from tuition. I don’t know why he went there,” she said.
The incident took place at 100 Foota in Narela, on vacant land near the DDA flats. Local residents alleged that the pit had been created during construction work and subsequently filled with rainwater.
Police said the exact circumstances in which the children entered the pit and the sequence of events leading to their drowning are being ascertained. They also appealed to parents and guardians to keep a close watch on children during the monsoon and prevent them from playing near open pits, drains and water bodies.
The DDA said the incident was “extremely unfortunate” and that the vacant plot adjoining Housing Pocket-4 in Narela Sector G7/G8 had been secured with a boundary wall to prevent unauthorised access. It said portions of the wall had been repeatedly damaged despite repairs. The authority said it was examining further preventive measures, including strengthening the boundary and enhancing surveillance of vulnerable vacant plots.