The death of Fatehveer, who fell in a borewell, has triggered huge protests in Punjab's Sangrur district.
The death of a two-year-old boy who fell in a borewell has triggered huge protests in Punjab's Sangrur district. Roads in many parts of the district have been blocked. What has angered the people is that the boy was pulled out of the borewell, tied in strings, even though a parallel tunnel was dug by the rescue team. Akali leader Sukhbir Badal has blamed the child's death on the state's Congress government, calling it a "daylight murder". He has also accused Chief Minister Amarinder Singh of being "busy in leisure and pleasure".
Fatehveer Singh, who had fallen inside a 150-foot-deep unused bore well on June 6, was rescued today after almost 110 hours. But when he was taken to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, the doctors said he was dead.
The body was reportedly decomposed but the reason and timing of the death will be ascertained once the doctors share the postmortem report.
Fatehveer Singh's body was airlifted to his village, Sharon in Sangrur district, after the post mortem and the cremation took place this morning.
Akali leader and former minister Sukhbir Singh Badal tweeted: "#Fatehveer:This is a daylight murder of the most inhuman & beastly kind. There is no such thing as government in Punjab. When the state is seething with pain & anger,CM is busy in leisure & pleasure in cooler climes.The govt remained absent as the child lay dying. Unforgivable."
Bhagwant Mann, the Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker from Sangrur, who visited the site, accused the Amarinder Singh-led government of "inordinate delay" in the rescue operation.
A member of the child's family alleged that he died due to "negligent behaviour of authorities". "They did not use proper technique to rescue him early on. Trial and error methods were adopted for days. Where were the modern methods and technology?" he was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.
Fatehveer Singh was brought out of the borewell around 5.30 am by the personnel of the National Disaster Response Force, who had been trying to rescue him since Thursday.
No food or water could be provided to the child, who was stuck at a depth of 125 feet, but the officials had managed to keep up the oxygen supply.
Earlier today, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh tweeted his condolences. "Very sad to hear about the tragic death of young Fatehveer. I pray that Waheguru grants his family the strength to bear this huge loss," he wrote.
He also said he asked all deputy commissioners in the state to ensure that "such terrible accidents can be prevented in the future".
Post a comment