Minor boy dies after drowning in under-construction drain in Greater Noida; family blames contractor for negligence

The boy was playing cricket with his friends and drowned while trying to get the ball out of the under construction drain which was filled with water.

New Delhi/Greater Noida: In a tragic incident, a 7-year-old boy died after falling into an under-construction drain while playing cricket in Begumpur village under Surajpur police station area of Greater Noida on Thursday, officials said. It is learnt that the boy Saddam, son of Nasru, a local from Begumpur was playing cricket with his friends on Thursday evening in the village.

While playing, the ball fell into the drain being constructed in the village. In a bid to get the ball out of the water-filled drain, Saddam slipped into the drain and drowned. Seeing Saddam drowning in the water, his friends who were playing with him raised an alarm and informed his parents. Soon, Saddam's parents rushed to the spot and along with the locals launched a rescue operation.

The boy was taken out of the drain and shifted to the hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. The incident has caused shock and grief in the entire village. After the child's death, his parents lodged a protest against the contractor and blamed him for the death of their son. The parents said that the contractor did not take the required safety measures and had left the under-construction drain open which caused their son's death.

The parents along with the villagers assembled near the drain and shouted slogans against the contractor while demanding action against him. Local police rushed to the spot and pacified the villagers. The police sent the body for postmortem. Police said that on the basis of the complaint a case will be registered and investigation will be done in the matter.