Six held responsible by magisterial inquiry for Mahi's death

Six persons have been held responsible by a magisterial inquiry for the death of 4-year-old Mahi, who had fallen into a 70-feet open borewell in Kho village near Manesar on June 20.

The 204-page inquiry report on the case was submitted today by Inquiry Officer cum Additional Deputy Commissioner, KM Pandurang, to District Magistrate, PC Meena.

Those held liable include the owner of the building, Rohtash Tayal, caretaker Surender Singh, who used to collect rent from Mahi's parents and other tenants for Tayal, and Sarpanch of gram panchayat, Kasan, Bimla Devi.

Gram Sachiv, Surjeet, panch of the concerned ward as well as the owner of the boring or drilling machines used for creating the borewell have also been indicted.

According to the inquiry report, Tayal had allegedly dug the borewell without taking prior permission from the competent authority.

He had ordered for three such borewells, out of which one was operational, while two others were left uncovered leading to the incident.

Singh also failed to notice the open borewells even though he ran a shop in the same vicinity, the report said, adding that the owner of the borewell drilling machines dug the pits illegally.

It could not be "believed" that the Sarpanch, the Gram Sachiv and Panch of the concerned ward were unaware of the three illegal borewells when they were being dug using heavy machines, the report said.

Moreover, the Sarpanch had given an affidavit to the Block Development and Panchayat Officer concerned stating that whenever any illegal borewell came into existence in the gram panchayat area, the district administration will be informed.

Also, no one residing in the premises where this incident happened informed the authorities of the uncovered borewells, the report said.

Meanwhile, the district administration has deposited Rs one lakh as fixed deposit in the name of Mahi's sibling.