Three siblings drowned in a pond while attempting to save each other in Dwarka’s Najafgarh, the police said on Monday.
The incident happened on the outskirts of Rawta village in Najafgarh, when Shubham (16), Piyush (13) and Rudraksh (11) had taken their cattle for grazing near the pond.
The animals had got into the pond. Piyush and Rudraksh went to get the animals out from the pond, when Piyush got trapped in a quicksand and started shouting for help.
Seeing him drowning, Rudraksh started swimming towards him but got trapped and drowned. Their elder brother Shubham, in a bid to rescue his brothers, then jumped into the pond. However, he also got trapped. The bothers drowned while attempting to save each other, said the police.
Delhi Fire Service officials said that they received a call around 1.15 p.m. about three children who had drowned in a pond. A fire vehicle rushed to the spot and the bodies were recovered after three hours, around 4.30 p.m. Locals also assisted the police and fire officials in the rescue operation. The bodies were found in deep-water area.
“The police control room was called around 1.25 p.m. and informed about the incident. A police team reached the spot and assisted the Delhi Fire Service staff in the rescue operation. When the children were recovered from the pond, they were unconscious. They were rushed to Rao Tularam Memorial Hospital where doctors declared them brought dead,” said a police officer.
The police said that Aman Singh, the father of the children, owns a dairy in the village. Since it was the summer holidays, the children would assist their father in the business. They had gone to graze the cattle on the fields near the pond.
The mother was waiting for the children for lunch when she was informed that they had drowned, said Mr. Singh. “I always asked my children to focus on studies and stay away from the cattle, but they had requested me to take rest and assured that they would take care of the cattle. I don’t know how to face my wife,” said the inconsolable father.
The Jaffarpur Kalan police have initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, said an officer, adding that the bodies were handed over to the family after an autopsy.
