New Delhi
A pair of siblings, both boys aged 13 and 9, drowned in the Old Bawana Canal after they allegedly slipped and fell inside while playing with their friends in the early hours of Thursday, police said.
The police said they were informed about the incident around 7.15am by passersby, who saw the two children drowning in the canal at Dariyapur Akhada area. They launched a search and recovered the body of the older sibling, while the search was still going on for the younger sibling at the time of printing the report.
The two boys were identified as Rohit Sharma, 13, and Mohit Sharma, 9, residents of Vijay Colony. They were spotted along with two to three friends by the caller, police said.
“Upon reaching the location, an enquiry officer found one child. The boy was identified as Harsh Habib, 11, a friend of the siblings. He informed us that two of his friends, Rohit and Mohit, had drowned while playing near the bank of the canal,” said Nidhin Valsan, deputy commissioner of police (outer north).
The DCP said that immediate action was taken and search and rescue teams with the Delhi Fire Service, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Delhi Police were deployed and within hours, recovered Rohit Sharma’s body. The boy was declared dead upon arrival by doctors at MV Hospital in Pooth Khurd, Bawana, and his body was moved to BSA Hospital mortuary, they said.
“Efforts are ongoing to recover the second child, Mohit Sharma; search and rescue operations are continuing with NDRF and other rescue agencies. The canal is deep and multiple men are on the job,” Valsan said.
However, police said the boy may have drowned.
Police said the two boys are survived by a younger sibling aged six and their parents. Their father, Kailash Sharma, works as a fruit vendor in the area. The family came from Badaun in Uttar Pradesh 10-15 years ago and the boys were students of Class 4 and Class 8 at a government school in the locality, they said.
Kailash Sharma told HT: “I can’t believe I lost both my sons in a moment. They had cleared their annual exams and would go play every day in the morning and in the evening. On Thursday, they told their mother that they were going to play cricket and would take a stroll around. I never imagined they would swim in the canal. It’s too risky.”
“Their friends were spotted near the canal by my cousin who questioned them and was then told that the boys were playing in the canal. Sadly, before we could reach the boys, they fell in the canal and drowned. Mohit fell first and Rohit went to rescue his brother, but also drowned…”
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