An 11-year-old boy drowned after he fell into a 10-foot-deep pit filled with rainwater at the Vijayamanagaram bus stop near Vriddhachalam on Tuesday.
The victim was identified as J. Vinoth Kumar, of Puthuvilankulam in Vijayamanagaram.
The police said the incident occurred around 3.30 p.m. The pit was dug for widening the road from Vriddhachalam to Ulundurpettai as part of the Chennai-Kanniyakumari industrial corridor project. The work was under way and the contractor had dug a pit at the Vijayamanagaram bus stop which was filled with water following the recent rains.
Police said Vinoth Kumar went near the pit accidentally and slipped into it and drowned. Residents informed his parents, retrieved the body and sent it to the Government Villupuram Medical College and Hospital (GVMCH) for autopsy. On information, irate locals and relatives of the boy resorted to a road blockade on the Vriddhachalam-Managalampettai Road blaming the contractor for failing to close the pit properly.
Police personnel pacified them following which they withdrew their protest. A case has been registered.
