A 15-year-old boy from Hyderabad, who had gone for a swim at a local swimming pool, drowned and died on Friday evening. The boy, after a swim with his friends, had gone back to the pool that was unattended by any lifeguards.
Mohammad Khaja, a madrasa student, had gone for a swim along with four of his friends, to A-Z swimming pool located at Rajendranagar on Friday evening. Shortly after 7 pm, Khaja's friends left the pool while he stayed behind to spend a few extra moments. The lifeguard for the pool had already left duty at 5.30 pm, according to the Rajendranagar police, adding that the incident took place between 7 pm and 7 30 pm.
In the CCTV footage near the pool, Khaja, who did not know how to swim, could be seen making attempts to swim. There was no one near the pool when the incident took place. He swam towards the deeper end of the pool, which is 7 feet in depth, when he drowned, say the police.
Speaking to the media. Khaja's uncle accused the A-Z swimming pool management of not providing adequate safety measures at the pool. “There were no lifeguards and the watchman did not intervene. Why did they allow the boys into the pool if there were no lifeguards? After the incident occurred, the management informed the police but took the mobile phone of his friends so that they won't call his family. Only after his body was taken to Osmania general hospital for postmortem did the police call his family,” he alleges.
The Rajendaranagar police have booked a case of negligence against the A-Z pool management.