An eight-year-old boy allegedly drowned in a rainwater-filled vacant plot in Delhi’s Samaypur Badli area on Thursday morning as heavy monsoon showers continued to inundate parts of the national capital, police said.

The deceased, identified as Rehan, a Class III student and resident of Sanjay Colony, had left home with his five-year-old brother around 8.30 am to attend nature’s call when the incident occurred.

According to police, continuous rainfall over the past two days had led to severe waterlogging at a vacant plot near the Machhi Market area. Rehan is believed to have entered the waterlogged plot, wandered into a deeper portion and drowned.

His younger brother returned home alone, prompting concern among family members when Rehan failed to return. The family launched a search and informed the police.

“My son had gone out in the morning to attend nature’s call. When he did not come back for a long time, we informed our relatives and started searching for him,” Rehan’s mother said, fighting back tears.

She said the family later found the child’s water bottle resting on the stone boundary of the flooded plot, raising fears that he had fallen into the water.

“When we saw the bottle lying on the stone fence, we feared something was wrong. My brother-in-law and other family members searched the water. The plot was filled with rainwater, and my son was found inside a pit. Had the plot not been flooded, my son would have been alive today,” she said.

Rehan’s aunt blamed negligence for the tragedy, alleging that the unattended waterlogged plot had become a death trap.

“He was only a child. Nobody imagined that the rainwater collected in the vacant plot would turn into a death trap. We lost him because the place was left unattended,” she said.

Police said the family searched for nearly two hours before residents suggested checking the flooded plot. With the help of neighbours, the family searched the water, recovered the child, and rushed him to Burari Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

A police officer said legal proceedings under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) have been initiated. After the completion of legal formalities, the body was handed over to the family.

Police said preliminary inquiry suggests the boy died due to accidental drowning and ruled out any foul play.