The body of Rakibul was recovered by Bachupally police from Pragathinagar Lake on Monday morning.
Hyderabad: It was just 12 days ago that Rakibul Shaik, a native of Fazil Nagar in Nadia district of West Bengal, came to the city seeking a livelihood. A father of two teenagers and one of the two breadwinners of his family of six, he died after he got washed away in an open drainage at Madhura Nagar in Nizampet under Bachupally police station limits on Sunday evening.
The body of Rakibul was recovered by Bachupally police from Pragathinagar Lake on Monday morning.
Rakibul, 36, was working as a construction labourer at Tellapur on the city outskirts. Having worked for a month, Rakibul went home and returned after two months. He then started working as a labourer at Nizampet.
Sunday was a holiday for the workers. Rakibul went to a meat shop for purchasing chicken and was returning when he slipped into an overflowing open drainage and got washed away. His body was located in the lake situated about a kilometre away.
Shahin SK, who is also a native of the same village as Rakibul, said: "Rakibul and his father Mahasin were the only breadwinners in his family. His son is aged 16 and daughter 14. They live in a hut at Fazil Nagar. He came back to the city on September 12 to rejoin work, but unfortunately died."
The drainage in which Rakibul got washed away was covered with cement slabs all over. It was left uncovered for approximately 30-feet at Madhuranagar. An eye-witness to the incident, Rahim, who runs a tea stall at Nizampet village, said: "It was a heavy downpour. Rakibul was carrying an umbrella in one hand and a cover containing chicken in the other. As the water was flowing above the cement slabs, the uncovered portion was not visible to Rakibul. He thought he was stepping on the cement slab but he ended up stepping into the drainage. We rushed to rescue him, but he got washed away. That was the last when we saw him alive.”
Post Rakubul’s drowning, officials have tied cables near the open portion of the drain, assuming that pedestrians will notice it and not fall into the drainage. Bachupally Inspector P. Jagadeeshwar said based on the complaint from a colleague of the deceased, a case was registered under section 174 of CrPC. The body was handed over to Rakibul’s friends after conducting an autospsy at the Gandhi Hospital mortuary.
