Contractor booked for drowning death

FIR filed 10 months after eight-year-old fell into open drain

The Nerul police have booked a contractor 10 months after an eight-year-old boy drowned in an open drain. On September 11 last year, Aniketrao Singh left his home to buy a packet of milk and was walking on the footpath amid heavy rainfall when he fell into the drain.

Bystanders could not rescue him owing to the surging floodwaters. The fire brigade retrieved the body with the help of fishermen from Sarsole jetty two days later.

A native of Uttar Pradesh, the boy’s mother died while giving birth to him. He then started living with his uncle’s family in Nerul, while his elder brother and father stayed back in U.P.

The contract for the maintenance of the drain was awarded to Dattatraya Patil of Om Construction and subcontracted to Akshay Mhatre from Shiravane village, the police said.

“The viscera was preserved after discussing the cause of death with doctors. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation provided the details of the contractor and we then registered an FIR on Tuesday,” assistant police inspector Swapnil Ijjapawar of the Nerul police said.

Mr. Mhatre has been booked under Section 304A (death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code.