A four-year-old boy who fell into an open sewer in Delhi’s Baprola area was found dead after a 24-hour search operation, with police saying his body was recovered from a water treatment plant in Nilothi on Wednesday.
The child fell into a manhole near Kheri Baba Pul in Nangli Vihar Extension on Tuesday afternoon while he was accompanying his mother to Dass Garden Park, police said. He reportedly fell while moving towards a drain to relieve himself.
The incident triggered a search involving the Delhi Police, fire brigade personnel, local divers and the National Disaster Response Force. Rescue teams traced the sewer and adjoining drain for nearly seven hours on Tuesday but could not locate the child before the operation was suspended overnight because of poor visibility and difficult site conditions.
The search resumed on Wednesday and led rescuers to the Water Treatment Plant in Nilothi, Nihal Vihar. Police said the sewer was connected to the drain, making it difficult for teams to establish the child’s movement through the network. The body was eventually recovered at the plant in multiple parts.
Police suspect that the body was dismembered after passing through rotating machinery used to filter and treat wastewater at the sewage treatment facility. The body was sent to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital for preservation and post-mortem examination. Authorities will conduct DNA profiling to establish the identity of the deceased child, a senior police officer said.
An FIR has been registered against unidentified persons under Section 106(1), relating to causing death by negligence, police said. Further investigation is under way.
The incident was reported to Ranhola police station in outer Delhi at around 3:21 pm on November 10. Rescue personnel worked through difficult conditions as local residents gathered near the site and supported the child’s family.
Residents also raised concerns about open manholes and uncovered sewers in residential areas. One local resident said such openings could cause accidents and urged authorities to ensure that manholes are properly covered.
The recovery has brought the search operation to an end, while the police investigation, post-mortem examination and DNA profiling are expected to determine the next steps in the case.
