Bengaluru boy’s death: BWSSB inquiry panel inspects open pipeline pit, to submit report by Feb 5

A Class 9 student who went missing for four days was found dead inside an open water pipeline chamber in south Bengaluru.

3 min readFeb 3, 2026 07:32 PM IST

BWSSB's three-member inquiry panel is probing the death of the boy (File photo for representative use).

Two days after a 14-year-old boy was found dead inside an open water pipeline chamber in south Bengaluru, the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB)’s three-member inquiry committee conducted a site inspection Tuesday as part of its probe into the incident.

The committee was constituted Sunday following the death of Preetham, a Class 9 student whose body was found inside an uncovered chamber about eight feet deep at Tataguni village during routine work by BWSSB staff. The boy had been missing since January 28, and preliminary findings have pointed to possible civic negligence.

An FIR has been registered in connection with the incident, and the committee is examining its contents as part of the inquiry, B S Dalayat, BWSSB engineer-in-chief and head of the committee, told The Indian Express. The panel will also seek the BWSSB chairman’s opinion before submitting its report by February 5, he said.

During Tuesday’s inspection, committee members interacted with BWSSB officials. Officials said the structure in question was not a manual sump but a 3,000-mm-diameter chamber constructed on a water transmission line air valve.

“The chamber is located around three feet above road level on the extreme left side and is enclosed by a wall and a concrete slab. BWSSB sources said the structure is a scour valve chamber — a pit-like installation housing a valve used to regulate water flow. Allegations have been made that the concrete cover was left open, leading to the incident,” officials said, adding that the committee has sought a field report from officials ranging from the Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) to the Chief Officer of the Kaggalipura zone.

While the first round of inspection has been completed, a second round will be conducted after officials submit their reports. “The final report will be prepared after reviewing the FIR, holding discussions and consulting the chairman,” Dalayat said.

Preetham, son of Rajnikanth, a housekeeping staffer at a private firm, lived with his family in a rented house in the area. The family, natives of Chamarajanagar district, had lodged a missing person complaint at the Kaggalipura police station after the boy failed to return home on January 28.

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According to the police, Preetham had gone to his aunt’s house for breakfast with his sister that morning. While the sister stayed back, he returned alone and went missing soon after. A search involving police and local residents was underway when the body was found on Sunday morning. The family has filed a complaint alleging negligence by BWSSB officials.

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