Three children drown in rainwater-filled pit in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon

Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh), Jul 16 (PTI) Two minor siblings and another boy drowned in a rainwater-filled pit in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district, police said on Thursday. The incident occurred on Wednesday evening at Gandhinagar village in the Bortalav area of Dongargarh development block. A 4-year-old boy and two brothers, both aged 8, had gone out to play but did not return home till evening. Their family members and villagers launched a search and, after hours of effort, found the bodies in a water-filled pit at night, a police official said. The pit had apparently been created after the excavation of soil for some work several months back. It got filled with rainwater following recent showers, he said. The bodies were recovered late at night and sent to the Community Health Centre in Dongargarh for post-mortem, the official said. Villagers alleged that the deep pit was left unsecured after excavation, resulting in the tragedy, and demanded stern action against those responsible. The exact cause of the incident and whether there was any negligence on the part of anyone would be ascertained after a detailed investigation, the official said. PTI COR TKP GK