The body of the 5-year-old boy who fell into a nullah on Monday evening is suspected to have drowned and must have been pushed further due to the rapid flow of water because of heavy rains – towards Aksa Beach at Malad’s Malwani.
The incident happened at Jogeshwari’s Amrut Nagar when the boy was playing with his friends. Tragically, as per police officials, he slipped and fell into the flowing nullah. The police officials and the fire brigade personnel began the search operation after being alerted.
As per police sources at Oshiwara police station, where the case is registered, the boy must have hurt himself upon falling and later pushed further due to the rapid flow of water in the nullah. “The base of the nullah is made of concrete cement so by judging the intensity of the fall, the boy must have hurt himself when he fell. The water level at the place of fall is around 2 inches, however, because of the rapid flow of water, he must be pushed forward, which gets to more than 5 feet,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.
"As per the CCTV footage, the other children are seen running away from the nullah at around the same time. So, even if the child had called for help, nobody could have heard it. The rapid flow of water must have pushed the boy further, leading to him drowning in the water or losing consciousness,” added the police official.
In order to find the body, the police officials have marked every nullah adjoining Amrut Nagar’s nullah to hunt down the body. “The first way out for the body to wash out was to be the nullah near Siddhi Vinayak Temple at Link Road in Jogeshwari, but that didn't occur. Next was the nullah near Windermere tower at Andheri but again, no luck. As per the river map of all these nullahs collectively, and considering the rains impacting the flow of it – the body must have flowed towards Aksa Beach,” the official revealed.
The official further blamed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for not building a protective wall or roof around the nullah.
“Are we waiting for a greater disaster to happen, especially during the rainy season? If there was a wall or a roof, such incidents can be avoided at large. Children while playing don’t have a sense of alertness, so aren’t the civic body responsible to prevent such mishaps from happening?” asked the official.
Meanwhile, the father of the boy, Ravi Gadekar, suspects a case of kidnapping or missing as there is no clear footage of the boy falling into the nullah.
Gadekar, while talking to the FPJ said, “The footage only has 5 children playing (among one is the victim) and the next shot has four children running back from the nullah. You cannot see my son slipping or falling! One of the girls who was playing with my son was holding his hand but they (the girl and her mother) refused to talk about anything to either the police or the rescue team.”
Gadekar, 27, who is unemployed and survived by two sons and one daughter wants the police to see the case as a kidnap or missing one.
Senior police inspector Manohar Dhanwade of Oshiwara police station said a special team of officers is trying to spot the body as soon as possible while also considering the father’s plea.
