At least two drowning deaths in city amid rain

A 27-year-old man and a nine-year-old boy drowned in separate incidents on Monday, said police, as the season’s heaviest showers so far hit the national capital.

In the first death, the 27-year-old drowned in the waterlogged Pul Prahladpur underpass on Monday afternoon, while reportedly taking selfies and videos on his cellphone, the police said.

The underpass was shut for traffic on Monday morning due to the incessant rains in Delhi and its surrounding areas, inundating several parts of the city and resulting in long snarls on important thoroughfares. Police barricades were placed to block the roads leading to the underpass, which was filled with rain water since morning.

Deputy commissioner of police (southeast) RP Meena said that police received a call at 1.37pm reporting a drowning beneath the railway underpass at Pul Prahladpur. Fire department rescue teams and divers were called in for rescue efforts. However, after an hour-long operation, the man’s body was fished out of the underpass.

The man was identified as Ravi Chautala, a resident of south Delhi’s Gautampuri in Jaitpur, around 200 metres from the underpass. The body was sent to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for an autopsy and the man’s family was informed about his death, said Meena.

“Locals revealed that Chautala went deep into the water to take selfies or videos. Inquest proceedings are being conducted”, he added.

Chautala is survived by his parents, four siblings, his wife and a 10-month-old daughter. He worked in a PPE kit-manufacturing unit in Okhla.

His sister, Preeti, said that he left home in the morning for work and she last spoke to him around 11.40am. “I called to ask if he reached office and was carrying his lunchbox. Around 3pm, someone called on my father’s mobile number and informed that my brother had drowned,” she said.

Police said they were scanning CCTV cameras to ascertain when and how Chautala reached the underpass and if anyone else was accompanying him.

In the second incident, a nine-year-old boy died after drowning in a pit filled with rain water near an agricultural field in Metro Vihar Phase-2 in outer Delhi’s Narela industrial area, said police. The boy’s family has told the police that he had gone to relieve himself in the field when the incident took place. The police said they are trying to ascertain how he fell into the pit.

Deputy commissioner of police (outer-north) Rajiv Ranjan Singh said the police received a call at 1.18pm that a boy drowned in a drain and was taken to a nearby hospital. When they reached the hospital, they learnt that he was declared dead on arrival at the facility.

“Prime facie, it appears that the boy was passing by the pit and slipped into it. He may not have seen the pit since it was filled with rain water,” said a police officer who asked not want to be named.