Youth jumps into drain to save cousin

Cousin yet to be found, say police

Two deaths — a drowning and an alleged suicide — were reported from Najafgarh in a matter of few hours between the night of July 2 and Monday morning.

Suicide attempt

In the first incident, a 19-year-old who jumped into a drain to unsuccessfully save his cousin was rescued by the police.

He is currently hospitalised. The incident was reported at 8.10 p.m. on July 2. Both cousins are named Sonu. The incident came to light after a passer-by noticed the duo in the drain. Sonu told the police that his cousin jumped in the drain to commit suicide.

“There are two versions of the incident — that he jumped in order to commit suicide and that he slipped. Sonu claims that he tried to stop his cousin from committing suicide but in vain. He jumped in the drain to rescue his cousin but realised later that the water was deep,” a senior police officer said.

After the PCR reached the spot, divers were roped in to rescue the cousins.

“Sonu was rescued and admitted to a hospital by the PCR van. A rescue operation was carried out to look for the cousin by the Fire Department and disaster management rescue teams. Motorboats, swimmers and divers were deployed to look for him. They failed to find him even by Monday evening,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) M.N. Tiwari.

Man found hanging

The second incident was reported a mere 100 metres from the drain. A man allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree branch. The police suspect that he committed suicide at night but it was not noticed until Monday morning. The police received a call on Monday morning. The deceased was identified as Munna. No suicide note has been found.