Two boys, Sonu aged four and Rajkumar aged five, died due to suffocation after they both got accidentally locked in a taxi for close to nine hours outside their residence in Outer Delhi's Ranhola area.
Police said the tragic incident took place on the afternoon of October 3 in the Das Garden area of Ranhola where the Sonu along with his cousin, Rajkumar, went inside the car to play.
“We believe that the children went to play inside the car between 2 pm to 2:30 pm,” a senior police officer said.
Police confirmed that the children died due to suffocation and dehydration, since they were locked in the car for a long time.
A small act of negligence on the part of the two families led to the demise of their children.
Both the children were cousins. While Sonu lived with his family in the Das Garden area, Rajkumar had gone for a visit to his maternal uncle's house.
Unable to find the children, the families of both the children had approached Ranhola Police on the night of October 3.
"For close to nine hours, the families of both the victims had been anxiously looking for them. They approached the police following which a case of kidnapping was registered. While combing through each alley, one of the relatives suggested that the families use their cars to search for the missing boys.
“It was only when Sonu’s father, who works as a private cab driver, opened his car, that saw both the children lying on the floor of the car," said Pankaj Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer)
Sonu’s father rushed both the kids to a private hospitalwhere they were declared brought dead.
Talking about the sequence of events which led to the tragic incident, a senior investigator said, "At around 1 pm, the owner of the car, who works as a taxi driver, locked the vehicle through central locking, without realising that the children were in it.