7-year-old boy slips into open drain in Greater Noida village being repaired for 2 months, drowns

NOIDA: A seven-year-old boy drowned in an open drain in Greater Noida's Begumpur village on Thursday evening.
Officials said the drain was being repaired by a contractor hired by the Greater Noida Authority. No FIR was registered till late on Friday evening as the child's family was yet to lodge a complaint, police said.
The boy was identified as Saddam. His father, Jasroor, drives an auto-rickshaw for a living. "The incident took place around 5pm. The boy was playing near the drain and slipped into it. The drain, which is at least 12ft deep, was filled with water for about 7ft," said Awadhesh Pratap Singh, the SHO of Surajpur police station.
"Passersby saw Saddam fall into the drain and rushed him to a private hospital in Greater Noida, where he was declared dead on arrival. We received information about the boy's death from the hospital authorities," he added.
A team from Surajpur police station went to the hospital and took the body for an autopsy.
"On Friday, the body was handed back to his family. The autopsy report is awaited. The family has not submitted a complaint yet, so an FIR hasn't been filed," the SHO said.
Villagers alleged negligence on the part of the Greater Noida Authority and the contractor who was carrying out the repairs. They also demanded compensation for Saddam's family.
"When such a deep drain is being repaired, why were barricades not placed around it for the safety of passersby? The child died because of negligence of the authority. The family should be given adequate compensation and action should be taken against the contractor and the officials concerned," said Hasruddin Chaudhary, a local Samajwadi Party worker.
A senior official from the Greater Noida Authority told TOI they were in the process of covering the drain and the water in it had been flushed out.
"The drain has been under repairs for the past two months. Now, we are covering the drain and the water has been drained out as well," the official added, declining to comment on the boy's death.