JAYAKUMAR MADALA By

Express News Service

In heartbreaking news coming in wee hours of Tuesday morning, 2-year-old Sujith, who was trapped inside a borewell, has been declared dead after 80 hours of non-stop rescue efforts. Tamil Nadu Revenue Principal Secretary J Radhakrishnan confirmed the news at 2.15 am.

At around 1 am on Tuesday morning, a heavy police force was deployed at the rescue spot. While the drilling work was still going on, ministers and the higher officials held a serious discussion near the borewell site.



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Speaking to the press, Radhakrishnan said, "We observed a stench emanating from the borewell at around 9.30 pm. It was confirmed that Sujith is no more. We found his body to be highly decomposed and dismembered."

Incidentally, the shed above the erected old borewell where Sujith was stuck is completely covered without even a peephole. Doctors were brought into the shed at around 2 am. In the meantime, digging work was stopped all of a sudden.

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Radhakrishnan said that the complete report on the exact situation will be released soon.

After Radhakrishnan declared that Wilson was dead, his body was pulled out and sent to a government hospital at Manapparai, about 40 km from here for autopsy, and was later handed over to his parents.

As the boy's body arrived, a pall of gloom descended on the village and people lined up to pay their last respects. Later, the body was buried in a local cemetery.

The toddler had fallen into a 600-feet borewell in front of his house on Friday night while playing with cousins. While Sujith was initially spotted at a depth of 27-feet, he later sunk as low as 100-feet.

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