HYDERABAD: Just days after the tragic death of nine-year-old Mounika, who fell into a nala at Kalasiguda on Saturday, another child has lost their life. Six-year-old Rayudu Vivek died on Tuesday after slipping into an open pit in a private property on Road No. 45, Jubilee Hills.
Kavita, a tenant of the property, said, “Vivek and his elder sister Srilalitha, who live beside our home, regularly play here along with my own children. Due to the continuous rain over the past few days, the pit, which is usually dry, had filled up with water.”
She said: “We locked the gates while leaving for work, but the boy came by jumping off the wall. Earlier this morning, we even warned the kids not to go near the pit. Regardless, the boy went near the pit where the fence was down to get a stick and accidentally fell in.”
The children alerted the boy’s parents and although his father tried to rescue him, the boy died.
Property owners dug pit for Vastu reason
Vivek was in Class I at the nearby government school. His parents, Bheema Shankar and Lalitha had moved to Hyderabad from Kakinada for work. The Jubilee Hills police have registered a case and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. “The property belongs to the Agarwals, who are in the jewellery business. Being superstitious and considering Vaastu, they dug the pit there and left it open. The pit might be around 10 feet deep,” said sub-inspector Rajesh Naidu.
“As the property has compound walls, fencing, and gates, it is difficult to take immediate action against anyone on the grounds of negligence. We will conduct a detailed investigation into the matter and take necessary decisions,” he added, informing that the body was sent for postmortem examination to Osmania Hospital.
An acquaintance of the family said that “as the grieving family has been working hard in the city for many years now and been financially struggling, some assistance from the owner of the property would come to aid. The owner did not contact the family till now, but the manager has been communicating back and forth.”
This is the third rain-related death in the city in the span of four days. After the death of Mounika, a 40-year-old Greyhounds constable was electrocuted during an intense rainstorm in Jubilee Hills on Sunday night.
A senior GHMC official said, “Although it is saddening that the incident took place on private property, there is nothing much we can do. If it had happened in a cellar or in a construction activity area, we would have had the opportunity to take any action.”