A 12-year-old boy drowned after he accidentally fell into a pit filled with rain water on the Government Arts and Science College premises, near Central College, on Wednesday afternoon.
Around half-a-dozen pits of six feet width and eight feet depth have been dug to construct pillars. All the pits were overflowing with rain water due to heavy rainfall over the last few days, said the police.
The victim was identified as Yeshvanth, son of Nataraj, a carpenter and Reddemma, a home maker. They are residents of Varthur. Yeshvanth was staying with his uncle Reddeppa on 6th cross, Kilari Road in Chickpet. He was a class VI student at a nearby private school, said the police.
The incident occurred when Yeshvanth was playing cricket with his friend Trilok at the college grounds on Wednesday as it was a holiday on account of Valmiki Jayanthi.
Trilok and Yeshvanth went to GAS college campus to play cricket without informing their parents at 11 am. While playing cricket, the ball landed in one of the pits and was floating. Yeshvanth went towards the pit to fetch it. However, he lost balance trying to pick the ball and fell into the pit with his head down, said the police. On noticing Yeshvanth drowning, Trilok ran towards the main road and informed a few passersby. They rushed to the pit and retrieved Yeshvanth. He was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him brought dead on arrival, said the police.
The body was shifted to Victoria Hospital for autopsy which would be conducted on Thursday. The police said there was no information regarding the people who had dug up the pits. They would visit the college campus on Thursday, collect more information and take action accordingly.
The victim’s relative Srikanth said Yeshvanth would have survived had he been retrieved soon, but nobody was there on the campus as it was a holiday.