Separate deaths of two toddlers in India stir tensions
NEW DELHI : Both were just two and both died terribly.
In one case, a two-year-old Indian boy stuck in a narrow well for more than four days was pulled out dead yesterday, triggering protests over delays in reaching the toddler.
In another case, the brutal murder of a two-year-old girl over a US$144 (S$197) loan has flared up religious tensions.
Fatehveer Singh captured national attention after he fell into a 33m-deep well in the northern Indian state of Punjab while playing last Thursday.
The disused well was just 23cm wide, complicating desperate efforts by dozens of rescue workers and volunteers as locals and television camera crew looked on.
"The child is not alive. He was pulled out at 5 in the morning by the NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) personnel," Mr Vijay Inder Singla said.
The toddler, who had oxygen supplies but no food or water, was flown in an air ambulance to a hospital in the capital Chandigarh, where he was declared dead.
Villagers angry about the failed rescue mission gathered at the site yesterday and shouted slogans against the state government.
The Hindu girl's badly mutilated body was discovered on a rubbish dump last Sunday in Uttar Pradesh state.
Right-wing Hindu groups have led protests, urging authorities to mete out "instant justice".- AFP
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