A pall of gloom descended on Dhanaura village of Ambala after the body of four-year-old Nirvair Singh, who fell into a borewell on Tuesday morning, was retrieved in the wee hours of Wednesday.
After remaining stuck in the borewell for nearly 21 hours, the boy’s body was retrieved after the rescue operation was completed at around 3.25 am. The boy was taken to the Civil Hospital, Ambala City, where doctors declared him brought dead.
Medical Officer Dr Rishipal said the boy was examined as soon as he was pulled out of the borewell, and efforts were made to resuscitate him.
Dr Sumit Kukreja, who conducted the post-mortem examination, said, “The boy had suffered injuries on his head, chest, and knees. Since there was water inside the borewell, traces of muddy water were also found inside the body. The cause of death is the combined effect of drowning and injuries. The boy may not have survived for long after falling into the borewell.”
After the post-mortem, the body was handed over to the family. Amid rain, the cremation was conducted in the village, which was attended by a large number of villagers and relatives.
Nirvair’s uncle Harinder Singh said, “We are going back home empty-handed. He was pulled out after 21 hours. The administration and villagers helped us, but he could not be saved. We have lost our child due to the negligence of some people. The police should take appropriate action against them. My elder brother and other family members are still in shock. The government should ensure that no such incident recurs.”
Ambala SP Ajit Singh Shekhawat said, “On the basis of a complaint, a case has been registered against the owner of the agricultural field and two other people who had taken the field on lease. After the first borewell failed, they dug another borewell and shifted the motor, but did not close the old borewell.”
A case has been registered under Section 106, BNS, against field owner Harnaik Singh, and Dilpreet Singh and Baljeet Singh, on the complaint of Gurdeep Singh, the boy’s relative. In his complaint, Gurdeep Singh said the accused were asked to close the borewell, but they paid no attention to the requests.
