Doctors declare child Jihad dead

Four-year-old Jihad, who was rescued 23 hours after he had fallen into an abandoned deep tube-well pipe in Dhaka, has been declared dead by doctors.

He was rushed to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital after being lifted by locals in an apparently unconscious state on Saturday afternoon.

Jihad fell into a few hundred feet long pipe next to a playground at the Shahjahanpur Railway Colony on Friday afternoon. Fire fighters and ordinary people mounted a rescue bid once they learnt of the accident.

Half an hour before he was found, the Fire Service had called off the search, saying they found no proof of his presence in the pipe. But minutes after the announcement the locals brought him up with the help of traditional methods.

Earlier, there was spell of speculation about the incident being a hoax.

The rescuers had lowered a borehole camera down the 14-inch-wide pipe, looking for the child for an hour without success.

State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who was present at the spot, expressed doubt about the child being down there in the pipe.

But fire service personnel persisted with the rescue operation to be doubly sure.

However, later Fire Service Director General Brig Gen Ali Ahmed Khan announced a halt to the 23-hour long rescue mission around 2:30pm on Saturday at a press conference at the accident site.

Fire Service Deputy Assistant Director Md Halim spoke to the reporters at 10am Saturday, 17 hours after the frantic rescue efforts started.

"There is no victim down below... We have nothing more to do here. We are assisting the locals in their traditional methods."

Shahjahanpur police had taken Jihad's father Nasir Fakir, who works as a security guard at the Motijheel School and College, into custody after 3am and is yet to release him.

Motijheel Police Additional Deputy Commissioner Anwar Hossain said, "He is in our custody for security concerns. He will remain with us until the situation returns to normal."

The child's uncle, 'Monir', said in the morning that the relatives had asked the police to ensure Jihad's father’s safety.

But he was unable to explain why Fakir was being kept in police custody and not at home.

"Police took him away. Now we don't know where he is," Monir said.

Jihad is the youngest of his parents' three children. His mother Khadiza Begum was in a state of shock while neighbours tried to calm her.

Fakir lives at house No. 41 in the railway colony.

A neighbour informed them that Jihad had fallen into the pit while playing with his friends around 3:30pm on Friday, the father had told reporters at night.

Although housewife 'Rahela' and a youth, 'Arif', said the same thing, no one had claimed having seen Jihad fall into the pipe.

Rahela and Arif were also taken into police custody.

When asked what made him think Jihad had fallen into the pipe, Monir had said, "Actually, we are not certain. People said they had seen him fall. And the fire service people also said he made four abortive attempts to get up, had juice and oxygen supplied."

He was also asked whether he thought that Jihad had been abducted.

"We have no enemies. Everybody adored Jihad. I don't think anybody would do it (abduction)," he said.