COIMBATORE: A 13-year-old boy died of suspected asphyxiation while collecting sludge from a drain for gold dust in Coimbatore early on Wednesday. B Vignesh, son of Balan and Yogamani of Paramathi in Namakkal district, was a Class VII student of a school in Namakkal. The couple residing in Ukkadam also has a six-year-old daughter. The family is regularly involved in collecting gold dust, police sources said.
As Balan could not do the work for the last one month due to health issues, Vignesh, who came to Coimbatore on a vacation, volunteered for the job. Around 1am on Wednesday, Vignesh left his home along with Balan’s friend Vengaiyan.
Around 2am, Vignesh got into a drain through an opening and squeezed through it for three metres and reached a spot located near Edayar Street and Telungu Street junction near jewellery units. As the drain was narrow at the spot, Vignesh got stuck and could not come out as it was closed with concrete slabs.
‘Will issue a stern warning again to stop the practice’
Vengaiyan, who was standing outside, tried to seek help but there were only a few people on the streets at the time. A patrol team of the Variety Hall Road police that came to the spot brought out Vignesh in an unconscious state and informed 108 ambulance.
The mobile medical team examined Vignesh and declared him dead. He could have been asphyxiated by toxic gases from the ditch, police said quoting the medical team. The body was later sent to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) for postmortem. The autopsy report is expected on Friday. The Variety Hall police have registered a case under Section 174 of CrPC. Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner M Pratap said the practice is banned in Coimbatore.
“A few people continue to do it along with their family members. We will issue a stern warning again to stop the practice,” he said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) G Chandeesh also said steps will be taken to prevent such dangerous practices. In September 2022, M Dharmaraj of Arivozhi Nagar in the city, a 27-year-old daily-wage labourer, had died in a similar incident on KG Street.