A five-year-old boy allegedly drowned in a swimming pool located in a residency building in Sector 37D, Gurugram. A five-year-old boy drowned in a swimming pool of a residential society in Gurgaon on Wednesday evening, allegedly in the presence of lifeguards, police said. The boy has been identified as Mivansh Singla, they said. The body was found floating in a 4-feet deep pool of BPTP Park Serene Housing Society. The society has three pools of different depths. Police have registered a case against the maintenance company and three lifeguards. The boy’s relatives and the resident association alleged that the lifeguards did not notice the boy going into the restricted 4-feet deep pool as they were playing on their phones at the time of the incident.
According to the police, the incident took place around 6 pm and the child lived with his parents and grandparents on the fifth floor of Tower J of the society. Investigators said the minor had gone to the swimming pool with his grandmother. After some time, the grandmother returned to the apartment to get some stuff and left the child alone near the pool, where at least two lifeguards were present.
Citing allegations by the family of the deceased minor, police said the boy was initially in the pool meant for children and had a shallow depth. However, he later went to another pool meant for adults, which was deeper, and allegedly drowned there.
A senior police officer said the minor was spotted a few minutes later by one of the two lifeguards and he jumped into the pool to pull him out. “However, the boy was unconscious and no efforts were made at the poolside to revive him. He was rushed to a nearby private hospital where doctors declared him dead,” he said.
He said the CCTV camera footage of the incident was being examined. The police control room was later informed about the incident, following which the police rushed to the spot for investigation, the official said. Meanwhile, after the incident came to light, residents on Wednesday night staged a protest inside the premises against the private firm handling the security of the entire society and the swimming pool.
When the residents protested, all the employees and guards of the firm fled from the spot in fear. The grandfather of the deceased boy has alleged in his written complaint to the police that his grandson went into the third swimming pool of the club, which is at least four feet deep and is meant for use by adults only.
They said, “If the lifeguards and the club management were responsible, alert and acted promptly, my grandson would not have drowned. Please take strict action against the culprits,” the grandfather alleged in his complaint to the police. Inspector Sandeep Kumar, station house officer (SHO) of Sector-10 police station, said they have registered an FIR against the lifeguards and other management officials under Section 106 (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Justice Code on the complaint of the deceased boy’s grandfather.
He said, “The investigation is on. CCTV camera footage is being scanned. Those responsible for the minor’s death will be arrested soon.” Meanwhile, Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said they will investigate the incident to find out if permission was taken to build the pool inside the society. “We will also investigate if the real estate agent had permission to build it,” he said.
