MARGAO
In a tragic incident, a one-and-a-half-year-old boy drowned at Tolleaband, Benaulim, on Monday after being left in the care of a neighbour while his parents went to work.
The incident occurred on Monday morning when the child’s parents, both primary school teachers, left their son with a neighbouring caretaker, as was their routine.
Police inquiries revealed that the child was sleeping at the neighbour’s house. While the child slept, the elderly male neighbour reportedly read the newspaper before falling asleep himself, and his wife had gone to a dentist’s appointment.
Police believe that the child, unnoticed by the caretakers, may have wandered to the rear of the house and accidentally fallen into a pond located there.
The incident came to light only after the neighbour’s wife returned from the dentist and found the child missing from the room. A search was conducted around the house, during which the child’s body was discovered floating in the pond behind the house.
The child was immediately rushed to the South Goa District Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.
A post-mortem examination confirmed that the cause of death was asphyxia due to drowning.
