No manhole cover, a hole in place of boundary wall gate

A multi-agency search and rescue operation underway after a 4-year-old boy fell into an open manhole, in Nangli Vihar area, New Delhi, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. (PTI Photo)

A damaged manhole cover and inadequate fencing at the boundary wall of a barren plot of land allowed a four-year-old boy to enter a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) site in Outer Delhi, where he fell into an open sewer line and died on Tuesday.

The DJB blamed miscreants for damaging the iron cover of the manhole and claimed that entry to the area was restricted by the police. Delhi Police, however, denied this.

A government official said a detailed inquiry would be conducted to establish the circumstances leading to the incident. Asked who was responsible for the damaged cover and inadequate fencing, the official blamed miscreants and said the matter needed to be investigated.

During an inspection, DJB officials found that the Interceptor Sewer Line passes beneath the boundary wall along the Najafgarh drain, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department.

“The inspection of the site revealed that the cover of the sewer manhole was damaged, reportedly by miscreants or anti-social elements. All manhole covers along the Interceptor Sewer Line are secured with nuts and bolts and cannot ordinarily be removed without appropriate tools,” an official said.

The DJB official also claimed that police had prohibited entry into the stretch following an earlier unlawful incident. “Access to the restricted area was not permitted without prior authorisation from the police.”

However, a senior Delhi Police officer denied that any such restrictions had been imposed in the area. Sources in the police said that stray animals often entered the premises as there was no gate in a section of the boundary wall.

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According to DJB officials, the child, Imran, and his mother entered the area around 1.30 pm on Tuesday. The DJB received information about the incident from the area’s Executive Engineer (Maintenance) around 5.22 pm.

The official said DJB staff rushed to the spot after receiving information about the incident, but found that police personnel and the NDRF team had already initiated rescue operations. The child’s body was finally recovered by a National Disaster Response Force team on Wednesday morning, hours after the incident was reported to the authorities.