Boy falls into manhole while playing,dies

Police said the incident occurred around 7.30 am. The family reached the spot after being told that a boy had fallen into a manhole. “I found his slippers on the spot and that’s when we realised it was him,” Parveen said.

Aadil’s father Muhammad Kashaf Raza said: “A passerby saw him falling into the manhole. He then called others.” The rescue operations started at around 8.30 am when the police,along with a rescue team and two fire tenders,reached the spot.

Aadil’s body was taken out from another manhole — about 20 feet away from the one he had fallen into — at about 11 am,the police said.

An eyewitness told Newsline: “The water flow was very strong in the manhole. It was stopped and only then the body was taken out.”

Angry residents accused the local agencies of negligence. “Construction on the drain had been undertaken a year ago. A couple of months ago,the authorities decided to stall the work,but they left three manholes open,” Naseem,a local resident,said.

Police have registered a case of negligence at Jamia Nagar police station. “We are investigating the case and will take action against anyone who is found guilty of negligence,” Satish Kumar,the inspecting officer,said.

Difficult to blame civic agencies
Even though some locals in Shaheen Bagh claimed that the manhole in which Mohammed Adil fell was covered by the Delhi Floods and Irrigation department a few months ago,it is unlikely that any civic agency will be nailed for negligence. Jamia Nagar,by virtue of being an unauthorised colony,does not relieve civic facilities from agencies like the MCD or the DJB. Unauthorised colonies in Delhi have only recently started availing basic infrastructure,but in areas like Jamia Nagar,it is impossible to trace which civic agency,if any at all,is responsive for which works.