Mumbai: Five-year-old girl drowns in water drum at Goregaon home

The child Aakriti, along with her father Rajesh Yadav. PIC/BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

A tragic incident was reported from Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Goregaon East, where a five-year-old girl, identified as Aakriti Yadav, accidentally drowned in a water-filled drum in her residence bathroom on August 19.

According to police, the deceased was a special needs child and also suffered from epilepsy. She was undergoing treatment with a neurologist in Chembur. On the night of August 18, a family religious ceremony was held, and due to the late hours, all family members and guests slept in the house. Aakriti was sleeping next to her aunt, Pooja Yadav.

Around 10.30 the next morning, Pooja Yadav noticed Aakriti inside the bathroom drum with her head submerged and legs up. She immediately raised an alarm, and family members rushed the child to MV Desai Hospital, Malad East, where doctors declared her dead before admission at 11.05 am. "A panchnama was carried out, and the body was sent for post-mortem at Siddharth Hospital to ascertain the exact cause of death," said an officer from Dindoshi police station.

Police recorded the statement of the girl's father, Rajesh Yadav, 35. Rajesh said that his daughter was differently-abled, unable to walk or speak, and had frequent seizures. He expressed no suspicion or complaint against anyone. The deceased girl's father works in a steel-making furniture manufacturing workshop. The family hails from UP.

The father said the deceased child had been differently-abled since birth. Her treatment was initially carried out in their native village, but when there was no improvement, the family shifted to Mumbai about one-and-a-half years ago and started living in a rented house in Goregaon for better medical care. He added that his daughter could neither speak nor walk; she moved around on her knees. An accidental death report under BNSS has been registered.