12-year-old girl drowns after falling into sump

In a tragic incident, a 12-year-old girl fell into a sump and drowned in MEC Layout, with her mother alleging that the landlord and his brother-in-law closed the sump and prevented her from saving the girl.

The owner and his brother-in-law told the police they did not allow others near the sump fearing it would become a police case.

The incident happened around 8.15 am at the house of Anbu and Muniswamy (45). There was an open sump at Anbu's house, the opening of which was closed with a tyre.

The deceased Jyothi Buggappa, the daughter of Parvathi, who was a maid at Anbu’s house, was playing near the sump when she slipped and fell into it.

Parvathi had gone to the first floor to fetch a broom to clean up the compound when the incident happened, the police said. From there, she claims to have seen the girl struggling inside the sump. She, along with neighbours, rushed to her daughter's help but the owner did not allow them to save her, stating that it was a police case.

While Parvathi told Anbu and Muniswamy that her daughter had fallen into the sump, Muniswamy closed the sump and did not even allow her to save Jyothi, according to the police. Parvathi screamed for help attracting the neighbours’ attention who rushed to the spot and demanded that Muniswamy open the sump. However, he refused, saying it had become police case and he would not allow anyone near the sump until the police arrive on the spot.

The enraged neighbours informed the police who rushed to the spot. By then, the girl was dead. The furious neighbours gave a sound thrashing to Anbu and Muniswamy and handed them over to police saying they were responsible for the girl’s death.

The Rajagopal Nagar police rushed the girl to a nearby hospital where she was declared brought dead. The police then secured Anbu, his wife and Muniswamy and are probing if they could be booked for murder.