21-year-old drowns in north Delhi corporation pool, no lifeguard present

NEW DELHI: A 21-year-old youth drowned in a swimming pool in northwest Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh on Wednesday evening.
DCP (northwest) Vijayanta Arya said the deceased, Parth Kumar, was a resident of Malkaganj in north Delhi. The pool, located in BK Block of Shalimar Bagh, belongs to North Delhi Municipal Corporation. This was Kumar’s first visit there. He entered the pool around 4pm and soon started to drown.
Police said there were no lifeguards present at the time of the incident and the youth was pulled out by other swimmers. He was taken to a nearby private hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. The body has been shifted to a mortuary and will be handed over to his family after an autopsy.
An investigating team later reached the spot to check if proper safety equipment was present in the swimming pool. They also took the statements of eyewitnesses. It is also being checked if the CCTV cameras were functional and had captured the incident. A case of causing death due to negligence has been registered at Shalimar Bagh police station. The officials responsible for the functioning of the pool have been asked to join in the investigation.
Area municipal councillor Tilakraj Kataria said that the swimming pool had been given to a contractor to run it. An inquiry by the civic body has revealed that Kumar had not taken monthly membership and was using the facility by paying the day’s fees.
“We have been told that the swimming instructor was available at the time of the incident. We are awaiting the autopsy report and action will be taken against the contractor if any lapses are found,” Kataria said.
A probe in on to find out if Kumar was under the influence of any intoxicants that may have led to the mishap. Cops are speaking to his family members to get more details.