Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
Friendship Day will no longer carry the same meaning for the families of Shaikh Ahad Shaikh Sharif and Shifan Shaker Khan. The city woke up to a wave of sorrow after a tragic accident on Saturday evening claimed the lives of these two childhood friends aged just seven and five who drowned in a 10-foot-deep water-filled pit at a construction site in Bhoiwada.
What was supposed to be another day of innocent play turned into a nightmare. Around 5.30 pm, Ahad and Shifan, along with a third friend, wandered to an open plot near Bodhi Samrat Hotel, where a contractor had left deep excavation pits exposed and waterlogged after monsoon rains. While exploring the site, one of the boys slipped into the murky water. Without a moment’s hesitation, the other jumped in after him determined to save his best friend. But the thick silt dragged them both under. The third child, Umar Khan, ran out screaming for help. By the time fire brigade officials Vijay Rathod and Deeparaj Gangawane reached the site and pulled them out, it was too late. Both boys were declared dead at government medical college and hospital(GMCH). Their lifeless bodies were carried away not just by emergency workers, but by a tide of grief that has since swept the entire locality.
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He feared water… but dared it for his friend
“I know he wouldn’t go near water. He was terrified of it,” sobbed Shifan’s elder cousin sister, standing alone near the very pit that swallowed her brother’s joy. Her words, choked with anguish, echoed through the neighborhood as relatives and residents gathered in mourning.
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Shifan had just started school this year
Shifan had only recently started kindergarten. Ahad, a second standard student, was known for his lively energy. Both came from modest homes Ahad’s father sells fruits; Shifan’s father works in a travel agency. What bound them was not wealth, but a pure, joyful bond. They offered namaz together at the nearby mosque every evening before heading out to play. That evening, like every other, they set out hand in hand unaware it would be their last.
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A friendship severed before it could blossom
Ahad’s family had moved to Bhoiwada from Kannad tehsil just a year ago. Since then, he and Shifan had become inseparable spending afternoons at each other’s homes and evenings in laughter. That bond, built on trust and innocence, was cut short just hours before Friendship Day.
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Negligence that killed
Locals allege that the contractor identified as Zakir Qureshi ignored repeated warnings to secure the dangerous site. Deep pits, dug 8 to 10 feet below ground level, remained unbarricaded. The owner of the plot, Mehfuz-Ur-Rehman, had reportedly begun construction eight months ago. Since then, the work progressed at a snail’s pace, but safety norms were never followed. Had even basic precautions been taken, this accident could have been avoided.
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Public fury, police promise action
Following the tragedy, agitated residents and grieving relatives flooded Kranti Chowk police station demanding justice. Police inspector Sunil Mane assured the public that stringent action would be taken. By nightfall, the process of registering an FIR against the contractor had begun. But no arrest or penalty can undo what was lost. Two young lives are gone not to fate, but to failure. The failure of one man’s responsibility has become the sorrow of an entire city.
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[BOX]
What safety norms were violated?
– No barricading of the plot with metal sheets
– No security guards deployed
– No signboards warning about danger
– Pits left open and waterlogged during monsoon