A four-year-old girl was killed after she fell into an open manhole in front of her house in Palwal’s Gandhi Colony on Monday night, police said on Tuesday, adding that the incident appeared to have taken place during a power outage in the area.
Her family searched the house and, after failing to find her, alerted neighbours, who joined the search. “It was dark when the incident took place as a power outage had occurred. The girl must have not been able to see the manhole in the dark and fell into it,” the officer added.
An inquiry under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was conducted. Thus, no FIR was registered and only inquiry under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita was carried out,” he said.
Police said no case had been registered as the girl’s father, Bharat, told investigators that she had accidentally fallen into the open manhole. Police officials said prima facie the girl appeared to have suffered a serious head injury in the fall, which resulted in her death. Inspector Krishan Gopal, station house officer of Camp police station, said Bharat did not press any charges against anyone.
The girl, a lower kindergarten student at a private school in Palwal, went missing from her home around 8pm on Monday, according to police. “He gave a statement to police on Tuesday that his daughter accidentally fell into the open manhole. The girl’s body was handed over to her family after an autopsy on Tuesday, police said.
After nearly an hour without any success, some neighbours suggested checking the open manhole in front of the house. “The family checked the open sewer and found the girl inside.
They immediately pulled her out and rushed her to Civil Hospital in Palwal but doctors declared her dead on arrival,” an officer said.
