CHENNAI: A weekend outing turned tragic after a four-year-old boy drowned in the government-run Anna Swimming Pool across from the University of Madras near Marina Beach on Saturday evening. The boy had visited the pool, maintained and operated by the Sports Development Authorities of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), with his family. Police said the family decided to take the boy into the pool against the advice of the front-desk staff who recommended otherwise, considering his age. Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday ordered a departmental inquiry into the incident.
Anna Square police said H Anirudh Krishnan was a resident of Rajesh Nagar in Pallikaranai. His father Hariharan works at a private company in Thanjavur. Hariharan visits home during the weekends. On this weekend’s visit, Hariharan, Anirudh, and four other family members went to the pool after lunch.
“Initial inquiries reveal the family did not get a token for Anirudh as he was underage and denied entry into the pool. But the family took him inside. Anirudh, another child and an elderly woman went to the children’s pool (2.5 ft deep) and the others went to the adult’s pool,” a police officer said.
The family was in the water from 3.15 pm to 4 pm. When they got out, Hariharan noticed Anirudh was missing. They searched and found him unconscious inside the kid’s pool.
Rs 3 lakh aid announced for family of deceased
A lifeguard helped them take him out of the water and he was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. The body was then sent to a government hospital for postmortem. “As of now, we have filed a case under Section 174 (suspicious death) of the CrPC. After further investigations, we will decide the next course of action.
We are analyzing the CCTV footage from the pool to ascertain how the incident took place,” the police officer added. Following the death of the child, the pool was closed for maintenance on Sunday. As per sources, there is no standard age limit for children in swimming pools maintained by SDAdaT.
CM MK Stalin condoled over the demise of Anirudh and ordered a solatium of `3 lakh to be provided to his family from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund. In a press statement, CM MK Stalin said he was saddened to learn of Anirudh’s death and added that he had ordered a departmental inquiry into the incident based on which appropriate action would be taken.