Bhubaneswar: A six-year-old boy died after he allegedly fell into an under-construction septic tank on the premises of a government hospital in Betnoti area of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district on Thursday.

The incident took place at Nadapur hospital in Mayurbhanj. The deceased has been identified as Arjun Bindhani, son of Laxmidhar Bindhani of Nuagaon.

According to reports, Arjun’s mother, Anjali, was working as a labourer at an under-construction building on the hospital premises. On Thursday, Arjun accompanied his mother when she returned to work.

While playing near the construction site, the child reportedly went towards an under-construction toilet tank. Arjun is believed to have accidentally fallen into the rainwater-filled tank.

When the child went missing, his mother and others launched a search to trace him. They eventually found him inside the septic tank at around 7.30 pm.

He was immediately taken to a hospital at Betnoti, where doctors declared him dead.

The locals, meanwhile, alleged that they had earlier warned the contractor and the concerned engineer about the need to secure the under-construction tank. They further claimed that cattle and goats had previously fallen into the open tank. Despite the alleged warnings, no adequate safety measures were put in place, they said.

The incident triggered tension at Nadapur and Nuagaon. On being informed, Betnoti SDPO Minati Biswal and Betanati police station in-charge Krishna Pingua reached the hospital and held discussions with the locals.

The incident has raised questions over the alleged negligence and safety arrangements at the construction site. Residents are now seeking an investigation into whether proper precautions were taken to prevent access to the under-construction tank.