BHUBANESWAR: In a tragic incident, a seven-year-old girl died after allegedly drowning accidentally in an open water fountain on the Reserve Police Line campus, minutes after she left school on Wednesday.
The deceased was a Class II student of DM School. She was suffering from intellectual disability. As per police, the girl had gone to the school from where she went missing during the lunch break. The Reserve Police Line campus, where the incident occurred, is situated over 1 km away from the school.
On receiving the information, her parents lodged a complaint with Saheed Nagar police. Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena said the child went missing from the school at around 1.20 pm. Police came to know of the matter at around 4.30 pm, he said.
“Police reached the location and launched a search operation. Additional police teams were mobilised from the headquarters to assist in tracing the missing child. All PCR vans in the area were alerted and CCTV footages from the school and surrounding areas were thoroughly examined as part of the efforts to locate her,” he added.
The CCTV footages revealed the girl left the school premises before the closing time. She was seen walking alone in the direction of a children’s park near the police line. During investigation, it emerged that the child’s maternal uncle was posted as a constable in the police line.
“Police suspect the child may have visited the police line to meet her uncle. During search on the campus, the girl was found inside an open water fountain on its premises,” said Meena.
As per the DCP, the fountain contained approximately four to five feet water, which possibly got accumulated due to the incessant rainfall during the last few days. “She was immediately shifted to Capital Hospital, where doctors declared her received dead,” he added.
Police said prima facie, the circumstances point towards accidental drowning. However, it can be ascertained only after the postmortem report is received, they added. The incident has left the school authorities in profound shock.
