8-year-old drowns in 12-ft-deep pit near brick kiln in Sambhal, owner among 3 booked

Bijnor: An eight-year-old boy drowned in a 12-foot-deep pit near a brick kiln in Sambhal district's Milak Dhureta village, following which police registered an FIR against the kiln owner and two others for alleged negligence.Police said the boy's father, Rohtas Singh, works as a labourer at the kiln and was living in a nearby shack with his wife, Savita Devi, and their two children. Around 6pm on Wednesday, the eight-year-old, Priyanshu, went missing while playing. After a search that lasted nearly 90 minutes, he was found dead in a pit filled with rainwater. Hayatnagar police station SHO Umesh Solanki said, "The pit was dug earlier that day using an earthmover to extract raw material for the kiln. It later started raining, and the pit filled with rainwater." The boy's father alleged that no safety measures had been put in place.Solanki added that based on Singh's complaint, an FIR has been lodged against kiln owner Mahesh Kumar of Barwali village and his partners, former pradhan Paltu (goes only by first name) and Noor Hasan, under BNS section 106(1) (causing death by negligence), and that further investigation was under way.The incident is the latest in a series of deaths involving children and pits dug by brick kiln owners in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier this month, a three-year-old drowned in a rain-filled pit in Hathras's Sandalpur village. During the 2023 monsoon, eight children drowned in a similar manner in two separate incidents in Hardoi and Amroha.