Overview

• A girl identified as Afreen slipped into an uncovered section of a drain in Gorakhpur’s Tiwarpur area while returning from a madrasa and was swept downstream before bystanders rescued her.
• She was declared dead on arrival at a local hospital after rescue efforts filmed in a video that circulated widely on social media.
• Reports differ on Afreen’s age—some outlets cite eight years old, others ten—highlighting information gaps ahead of official confirmation.
• Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation has formed a committee to investigate the incident and issued showcause notices to the contractor and a junior engineer responsible for the ongoing drain work.
• Sub-divisional Magistrate Deepak Kumar Gupta has disbursed Rs 4 lakh in compensation to the family, with further administrative or legal action pending the committee’s report.