The body of an 8-year-old boy, who fell into a drain in Assam’s Guwahati and was swept away three days ago, was found on Sunday morning, bringing the search operation to a grief-stricken end. The parents, Hiralal and his wife, identified the body at Guwahati Medical College, according to hospital sources. Scientific examinations and further procedures are underway. Abhinash slipped from his father’s scooter while riding home in heavy rain on Thursday evening. Hiralal tried to grab his son but was swept away by the current. Since then, the parents had been staying at the search location, clinging to hope of finding their son alive. A massive search operation was launched to find the boy, involving National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and other agencies. Sniffer dogs, excavators, and other equipment were also used to scour the storm drain.
On Saturday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the site and consoled Hiralal and his wife, urging them to return home and also promising to continue the search. The Chief Minister offered support to the family. Talking to the media, Sarma had stressed that “we should prepare them to face the harsh truth”. “We should all ensure that they [parents] return home and prepare them to face the harsh truth. If something were to happen to the parents now, we would not be able to forgive ourselves,” the Chief Minister said on Saturday night. The rescuers had highlighted the possibility of the boy being washed away further downstream from the point of the incident. The officials mapped the flow, and the search was carried out by removing concrete slabs in the downstream areas.
The Chief Minister is expected to visit Abhinash’s residence on Monday. “While nothing can bring back the boy, we will try to ensure the younger son of the couple is well taken care of,” he added. The Chief Minister, however, dismissed the allegation of government negligence leading to the incident, maintaining that there are bound to be some problems in a big city like Guwahati. He added the administration was ready to rectify them wherever pointed out.
