4yo falls into 70-ft-deep well, dies

Agra: A four-year-old girl died after falling into a 70-foot-deep dry well while playing in Agra’s Gopalpura village around 6pm on Thursday, triggering protests by villagers who alleged delays in the rescue operation.Bittu had arrived at her maternal grandparents’ house with her parents, Saurabh Tiwari and Hema, from Firozabad to attend a religious function. She was playing with her twin sister outside the house when the accident took place.Police said an old well was located a few feet from the house. “The well had been covered with plywood after boring work for a submersible pump was carried out. However, the plywood suddenly caved in, causing Bittu to fall into the deep well. Her twin sister narrowly escaped,” a Jaitpur police official told TOI.A rescue operation involving local police, SDRF and fire department personnel continued for nearly four hours. The child was eventually pulled out and taken to the CHC in Bah, where doctors declared her dead.Following the incident, family members and villagers staged a protest, alleging negligence on the part of the administration. They claimed the rescue was delayed due to toxic fumes inside the well and the late arrival of oxygen cylinders required for rescue personnel to descend into it. Saurabh also alleged that the body was taken for postmortem without informing the family.DCP (East) Abhishek Agarwal assured the family that appropriate action would be taken based on their complaint, following which the situation was brought under control. “Fire department personnel rescued her, but she had already died. People were pacified after discussions,” Agarwal said.