Eight-year-old goes to play in park, drowns in pond

Locals blamed the BBMP for failing to build a safety structure around the pond

An eight-year-old boy playing in a neighbourhood park drowned in a pond and died on Friday afternoon.

Bagalagunte police said the incident happened at Kempegowda Park in Mallasandra in Dasarahalli limits.

The parents of the boy, Pratap, are employed at a garment factory and were at work on Friday when the incident happened, police said.

"Pratap went to the park to play with his friends and slipped into the pond,” said a senior police officer. “We have retrieved the body and sent it for post-mortem. We have taken up a case and are investigating.”

The pond has been brimming with water after the recent rains. “It has been around for several years,” said a local resident. “There has never been a boundary or railing around the park to prevent people, particularly children, from falling into the pond.”

Locals blamed the BBMP for failing to build a safe structure around the pond.

Following the tragic incident, Dasarahalli MLA R Manjunath visited the bereaved family and consoled the parents. He presented a compensatory cheque of Rs 50,000 to them and assured them that he would get a house sanctioned for them.