Boy dies after falling into open drain in Vijayawada, body retrieved

MLA Vellampalli Srinivas and VMC Commissioner Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar inspecting the uncovered drain in which the six-year-old boy drowned, at Old Raja Rajeswaripeta in Vijayawada on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The missing case of six-year-old boy, Shaik Suleman Ashraf, turned into a tragedy when the police retrieved the body from the outfall drainage at his house in Old Raja Rajeswaripeta in Vijayawada on Thursday.

A first class student, Suleman, who went out for playing was missing since Wednesday evening. After searching in vain for the boy, his mother, Shaik Sharmila lodged a complaint with the Two Town police around midnight.

On Thursday morning, police along with the sanitation workers launched a search in the open drainage and found him dead. The body was sent to the Government Hospital mortuary for post-mortem.

VMC officials blamed

Residents of Old Raja Rajeswaripeta blamed the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) officials for not covering the drain.

Vijayawada West MLA, Vellampalli Srinivas, VMC Commissioner Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar, corporator Abdul Arshad and others visited the spot.

The MLA expressed grief and directed the officials concerned to cover the drain immediately.

Negligence caused death

“We appealed to the VMC officials on several occasions to construct a retaining wall and cover the drain, but to no avail. The open drain has claimed the life of a boy,” said a local Kumar.

West Zone Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) K. Hanumantha Rao said the police altered the ‘Boy Missing’ case into Section 174 Cr.P.C. (Suspicious death) after retrieving the body on Thursday.