7-year-old boy slips and drowns in Ghaziabad drain

A seven-year-old boy slipped and drowned in a major drain in Ghaziabad late Wednesday evening. Police said that the boy’s body was found around 10pm on Wednesday.

The victim, identified as Asad Naushad, was playing near the drain behind the Mahamaya stadium near GT Road, a short distance away from the Islam Nagar locality where he lived.

Mohammad Naushad, Asad’s father, said, “I have no children and I adopted my brother’s son (Asad) and was bringing him up. Around 7.30pm on Wednesday, some children came to my house and said that my son slipped into the drain. I alerted my neighbours and they informed the police. After a lot of search, Asad’s body was retrieved from the drain around 10pm.”

The drain flows through Sai Upvan and goes towards the river Hindon. The police said that they did not receive any complaint from the family so far.

“It is a case of accidental death as the child slipped into the drain while playing near it. We roped in personnel and also earthmoving machines to search for him. The body was retrieved late Wednesday night. There is no complaint from his family,” said Rajesh Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (city zone).

An officer from the municipal corporation said, “Several children were playing near the drain. The victim was walking on the small wall around the drain and that is probably why he fell into it. It is a major drain away from the locality and below the elevated portion of the rail over-bridge connecting the Meerut intersection to Siddharth Vihar.”