The extensive 48-hour search for a missing 3-year-old boy, Vidhansh Gopal Chavan, in the Bhiwandi to Ambarnath region concluded on a somber note when a canine from the Thane rural police dog squad located his lifeless body in the water tank of the municipal building where he resided.
Vidhansh’s parents, residents of a municipal building behind Kotergate mosque in Bhiwandi, reported him missing to the Bhiwandi city police on January 26. His mother, Mamta, informed the police that the young boy had left home to play and buy chocolate but did not return. Concerned, the police registered a kidnapping case and initiated a search operation.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bhiwandi, Navnath Dhavale, coordinated over five teams of detection officers from different police stations, scrutinizing CCTV footage from the vicinity. While initial footage suggested the boy might be at Kalyan railway station, further investigation revealed it was not their child. The search intensified, and the Thane rural police dog squad, led by the capable ‘Belle’ and her handler Samir Dike, was brought in.
After an exhaustive search, Belle led the investigators to the water tank located below the building’s staircase. Tragically, the body of young Vidhansh was discovered in the tank, which had a small space through which a child could enter. The tank was half open, and the body had floated to the top after almost 48 hours. The police transported the body to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Bhiwandi.
Mahendra Kumbhar, senior police inspector at Bhiwandi police station, confirmed that they have registered an accidental death report, and it appears evident that the boy drowned in the water tank. Khushal Gohil, a vice-president of the NCP party from Bhiwandi, expressed concerns about negligence in leaving the water tank open and emphasized that the police would investigate the matter.
