The body of a four-year-old child who fell into an open sewer near Kheri Baba Bridge in Nangli Vihar Extension, west Delhi, was recovered after a 24-hour search operation, prompting a police investigation into the fatal lapse and renewed anger over uncovered drains in residential areas.
The child fell into the sewer while playing at around 3:21 pm on Tuesday, according to a senior police officer cited in the report. The incident was reported to the Ranhola police station, after which teams from the Delhi Fire Service, the National Disaster Response Force and local divers began searching the sewer and adjoining drain network.
The search teams followed the sewer line towards the Nilothi Sewage Treatment Plant in Nihal Vihar. The child’s body was recovered from the plant after the operation continued for approximately 24 hours. Police sent the remains to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital for post-mortem examination and DNA testing to confirm the identity.
The report said the body was recovered in multiple pieces. Police officials indicated that the remains may have been damaged by machinery used to filter and treat wastewater at the plant. The cause of death and the circumstances leading to the child’s fall will be examined as part of the investigation.
A first information report has been registered against unidentified persons under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, relating to causing death by negligence. The investigation is intended to establish how the child accessed the sewer and whether any individual or agency failed to secure the opening or maintain the surrounding infrastructure.
The incident drew local residents to the area as rescue teams worked through the night. Residents supported the child’s family and raised concerns about open drains and uncovered sewers in inhabited neighbourhoods. The episode also highlighted how a gap in a local sewer network can connect directly to a larger wastewater system, turning a neighbourhood hazard into a complex rescue operation across drains, underground lines and a treatment facility.
A Delhi government official said Delhi Jal Board officials inspected the site. According to the official, the interceptor sewer line passes beneath the closed boundary wall of the Najafgarh drain, and the cover had allegedly been damaged by miscreants and anti-social elements. The official also said access to the area had already been restricted by the police administration because of other illegal activities reported there.
The official said a detailed report would be submitted. The police investigation, post-mortem examination and DNA testing are the next formal steps in determining the child’s identity and establishing responsibility for the death.
