Bhubaneswar: A 7-year-old girl student of a government-run school in Bhubaneswar was found dead inside a water fountain on a police reserve ground near her campus Wednesday evening, police said.
The mentally challenged girl studied at the Demonstration Multipurpose (DM) School of the Regional Institute of Education.
She was reported missing from the school premises around 1.20 pm, police said.
On receiving the information, Shaheed Nagar police reached the spot and launched a search operation.
Police teams were deployed, PCR vans were alerted, and CCTV camera footage was examined to trace the child, an officer said.
While checking CCTV camera footage, police found that the girl left the school campus before closing time and was seen roaming alone near the police lines, he said.
During the search, the girl was found unconscious inside the fountain on the police reserve ground containing about three feet of water, which had accumulated due to incessant rain over the past few days, the officer said.
The girl was taken to the Capital Hospital, where she was declared brought dead.
Prima facie, it seems to be a case of accidental drowning. However, it can be confirmed only after the post-mortem report, he added.
Meanwhile, the deceased student’s uncle accused the school authorities of negligence.
The girl alone came out of the school and campus and no one stopped her. She crossed three traffic posts and entered the police reserve campus and the incident happened, he alleged.