An 11-year-old boy died after falling into an open drain while playing near his house in Ghaziabad, the police said on Friday.
The incident occurred on Wednesday evening in the village of Mazra Jhundpura. The boy, identified as Ahil, was playing about 50 metres from his house when he fell into a 2.5-feet-deep drain, a senior officer said.
The incident comes close on the heels of the death of a 27-year-old software engineer whose car plunged into a water-filled pit at Sector 150 in Greater Noida on the intervening night of January 16 and 17.
Ahil’s family members and neighbours pulled him out and, after cleaning him with warm water, rushed him in an unconscious state to a hospital in Pilkhuwa town of neighbouring Hapur district, where he died, the officer added.
After completing legal formalities and conducting the post-mortem, the body was handed over to the family by the Pilkhuwa police. Ahil was laid to rest on Thursday.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Masuri) Lipi Nagaich said the local police unit was not informed about the incident immediately.
Angry residents alleged negligence on the part of the local administration, claiming that the drain was neither covered nor secured with a boundary wall despite children frequently playing in the area.
They also claimed that on January 8, a five-month-old boy had died after falling into an open drain in Momin Colony.
Residents to meet DM
The residents said the civic body had made no improvement to the infrastructure despite the earlier incident, adding that they would raise the issue of alleged negligence before the District Magistrate (DM). Ahil’s father, Zahid, a plumber by profession, is originally from Soharkha village in Greater Noida and currently lives in Mazra Jhundpura with his wife and children.
Published – January 24, 2026 07:22 am IST
