An eight-year-old boy drowned after accidentally slipping into a water-filled pit dug for an ongoing railway construction project near Kapagal village in Karnataka’s Raichur district on Sunday. Police have registered a case and launched an investigation into alleged negligence by railway officials and the contractor.
The child had accompanied his parents to their agricultural field in Manvi taluk. While playing nearby, he wandered away and fell into a pit, around 9 to 10 feet deep, excavated for a railway column and filled with rainwater.
According to Manvi Police, the parents began searching for the boy after noticing he was missing and later found him submerged in the pit. They pulled him out and rushed him to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Following a complaint filed by the child’s father, police registered a case under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), citing alleged negligence by the Railway Department, the contractor and engineers for failing to secure the excavation site. The investigation is currently underway.
Manvi MLA G Hampayya Nayak said action would be taken against those responsible for the construction work and assured that the bereaved family would receive government compensation.
The tragedy has also raised concerns over safety standards at railway construction sites across Raichur district. Social activists have alleged that several excavation pits remain unfenced and lack warning signs, posing serious risks to nearby farmers and children.
Raichur Deputy Commissioner Poovitha S said an inquiry is in progress and noted that district authorities had recently directed railway officials to install fencing and warning boards at construction sites. Compensation for the family will be decided after the investigation report is submitted.
