Out for a swim, 11-year-old boy drowns in Gill Canal

Ludhiana: An 11-year-old boy, who went missing after reportedly entering the Gill Canal for a bath on Tuesday, was found dead on Wednesday evening after an extensive search operation. The deceased, Taranjit Singh, was a resident of Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar near Gill Canal.According to his family, Taranjit left home on Tuesday morning to bathe in the canal, but did not return. When he remained untraceable till evening, family members launched a search and later informed the police.Acting on the complaint, the police and divers carried out a search operation.Sources said after considerable efforts, the boy’s body was recovered from the canal around 5.30pm on Wednesday.ASI Harbans Singh, the investigating officer in the case, said a search operation was launched after the boy was reported missing and suspected to have drowned in the canal. He added that the body was recovered with the help of divers and further proceedings were initiated.The incident has left the family devastated. Taranjit’s father works as a daily wage laborer, while his mother is a homemaker.Cops said that Taranjit was the youngest among the siblings.Sources said the family had suffered a tragedy earlier this year when their 16-year-old daughter died in February following a prolonged illness. They added that with Taranjit’s death, only the couple’s elder son 14-year-old Karandeep survives.As news of the recovery of the boy’s body reached home on Wednesday evening, grief-stricken family members broke down, and the parents reportedly fainted.Police have sent the body for post-mortem examination and are conducting further investigation into the incident.ASI Harbans Singh said the incident happened on the day when water was released in the canal and the boy was swept away in the waters.In June last year: A summer bath turned tragic for four minor boys, including twin brothers, who drowned in the Sidhwan Canal near Lohara Bridge after a rope-tying dare went fatally wrong.