5-year-old girl dies of strangulation after 'gamcha' wraps around neck in Surat

The girl was playing with a mobile phone when a 'gamcha', which was hung out for drying, tightened around her neck and strangled her.

Surat:A five-year-old girl died after accidentally strangling herself with a 'gamcha' while playing with a mobile phone in Amroli area of Gujarat's Surat.

The incident took place on July 21 when the girl's father had gone to buy vegetables and her mother was cooking. The girl was playing with a mobile while sitting near the window. Clothes were hung there for drying. The deceased, Aspita, who was busy with the mobile phone, did not realise when a 'gamcha' suddenly wrapped tightly around her neck. The girl slipped and fainted after falling on the ground.

Hearing her scream, the girl's mother came out of the kitchen and found her lying unconscious on the floor. She rushed her to three private hospitals of the area. But, doctors declared her brought dead. The incident has descended a pall of gloom in the family.

According to police, the girl's father Manoj Kumar Jaina is a native of Odisha and resides in Kosad Awas in Amroli area of the city. Manoj works as a daily labourer. A case of accidental death has been registered and investigations are on, police said.

"There was nobody near the girl when the accident occurred. Her father had gone to the market and her mother was busy in the kitchen. She was playing with a mobile and it is very surprising as to how the 'gamcha' wrapped around her neck. Her mother ran to the room after hearing her scream but it was too late since she had already fainted," a relative said.