india

Updated: Nov 18, 2019 00:55 IST

A four-year-old child drowned in a pond that was completely covered with green algae at Eco Park, a recreational park maintained by the West Bengal government, in Kolkata’s New Town area on Saturday afternoon, police said.

On Sunday the victim’s parents lodged a complaint with the New Town police station against the chairman of the Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO), a senior bureaucrat of the state government and the security officer of the park, alleging negligence in duty, police said.

HIDCO chairman Debasis Sen refused to take calls and did not respond to messages.

Firhad Hakim, urban development and municipal affairs minister said: “It is a very unfortunate incident. I have ordered an enquiry.”

The pond’s surface was totally covered with green algae and it resembled a playing ground covered with grass. On Sunday the park authorities put a fence around the pond.

“The pond was located behind a building inside the park, where no visitors go. We have to find out how the child reached there and none of the security guards noticed him,” Hakim added.

“The victim, identified as Sk Abez, had come to the park with his mother and neighbours. He went missing around 4 pm. Later his body was fished out from the pond,” said a senior officer of the New Town police station.

Police said that when the child went missing, his mother started looking for him frantically. Private security guards posted in the park were also deployed to search for the child. Later police was informed.

“When we reached the spot we noticed the pond resembling a playing ground and suspected that the child might have drowned. Divers were deployed who then fished out the body,” said the officer.

In 2018, a man had drowned in another pond inside the park. HIDCO which maintains the 480-acre park had later fenced off the water body.