Qasim Siddique Hamid Ali, 7, died because of the negligence of the swimming pool authorities at the Andheri Sports Complex, his family has said.
On Friday evening, when the boy went for his swimming session, his mother Siddiqa accompanied him. She could not spot her son in the pool as it was crowded. A while later, she saw an instructor carry her spluttering son to an autorickshaw. Little did she know then that it would be the last time she would see him alive. Qasim was declared dead on arrival at Cooper Hospital.
Qasim, a student of St Xavier’s High School, Vile Parle, was a good swimmer, which is why the family finds it hard to believe he died of drowning. An aunt, Saira Ataullah, was shocked. “He has been swimming for a couple of years now,” she said. “He was even awarded a certificate for his expertise. We don’t know how he could drown at the pool.”
Saira said even in hospital water was oozing from the boy’s mouth. “The pool authorities should have had the sense to force the water out while rushing him to hospital,” she said. “Qasim would have been alive today if they had shown presence of mind.”
Raju Palkar, the instructor who rushed Qasim to hospital, said,
“The child was alive when we reached the hospital at 7:30pm. He was vomiting; when I took him in my arms during treatment, he died.”
The police have registered a case of death due to negligence and started recording the statements of all lifeguards and instructors who were present when the boy drowned.
Qasim lived with Siddiqa, four aunts and three uncles at her parents’ house in Andheri. His father lived in Nerul. The couple is separated. Siddiqa teaches at a BMC school in Dawood Baug, Andheri.
“Qasim was loved by one and all,” said a relative. “He was a big support for his mother. We don’t know how she will cope with the loss.”
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