The body of the Class 8 student, Mithun, was recovered more than 72 hours after the teenager was reported missing, an officer said.
| Photo Credit: File photo
Rescue teams on Tuesday recovered the body of a 15-year-old boy, Mithun, who fell into an open drain while chasing a kite in south-east Delhi’s Jasola village on August 22. The body was recovered more than 72 hours after the teenager was reported missing, an officer said. Owing to the delay in finding the body, the boy’s father had jumped into the sewage-filled drain to search for Mithun’s body.The Class 8 student went missing around 11 a.m. A Delhi Fire Services (DFS) official said they received a distress call at 11.54 a.m. Two fire tenders were sent to the spot, and search operations were commenced. However, even after 60 hours of search operations, the body could not be located.The operation expanded into a multi-agency search involving the National Disaster Response Force and the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, in addition to divers from the Boat Club.On August 22, the family of the boy and the locals had even held protests and blocked traffic, trying to pressure authorities to intensify their efforts in searching for the boy. They had alleged that the police and the DFS were only using poles to find the body despite having all the rescue equipment.According to officials, the strong, continuous flow of water in the drain hampered search operations. The search was called off late on August 21 and resumed a day later morning. It continued through Monday.When the body was not recovered even by Monday afternoon, Mithun’s father, Awadesh Kumar, jumped into the drain himself to look for his son, a video of which was posted on social media.On Monday, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta expressed strong displeasure and sorrow over the incident. She directed the Chief Secretary to establish which agency had jurisdiction over the drain and identify the officer responsible. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi subsequently suspended Anuj Kumar, a junior engineer at its South East (Central) Zone, for dereliction of duty and initiated disciplinary proceedings against him.After Mithun’s body was recovered on Tuesday, his family members appealed to the Delhi government to construct a boundary wall around the drain so that no other family has to suffer a similar fate.(With inputs from PTI) Published - August 26, 2026 12:44 am IST
