RAWALPINDI: The body of a seven-year-old who had been missing after falling into an open sewage drain and being swept away in the Westridge area on June 17 was discovered floating on the water surface of Leh Nullah, Gawal Mandi about some seven kilometers from his home, on the afternoon of June 19.
He was Muhammad Farooq, a resident of Gawal Mandi, who called 15 emergency and Rescue 1122 after his brother spotted the body floating on the water surface in Leh Nullah.
“As my brother walked out of his house near Leh Nullah to dispose of garbage, he discovered a human body floating on the water’s surface,” Farooq told Dawn.
He said that as he informed the emergency police, they asked him to send the pictures of the body and his current location to ensure the presence of the human body.
He added that after the emergency services and heirs of the missing boy arrived at the spot, they confirmed that it was Wisal Fahad’s body, who accidentally slipped into an open sewage drain and was swept away while playing in the street during rainy Wednesday night.
Since the boy drowned, a huge search by police, local residents and Rescue 1122 had been taking place in the Westridge-III area on Wednesday.
When contacted, Farhad Ali, father of the missing boy, confirmed to Dawn that his son has been found in Gawal Mandi area and shifted to the DHQ hospital by the police. Wisal Farhad was in Grade II at a local school and left his house and was playing outside when he fell into the nullah.
A spokesman for the Rescue 1122 said the body was recovered from the nullah Lai by Rescue 1122 teams and handed over to the concerned police for necessary legal action. And the body will be handed over to the heirs after completion of legal proceedings, he added.
After the body of the missing boy was retrieved, the police shifted it to the District Headquarters Hospital for postmortem. After the postmortem, the body was handed over to his heirs for burial.
During the search operation, underground and covered areas, manholes, blocked drains, debris accumulation areas, under bridges, and all potential entrapment locations were repeatedly searched. During the search operation, debris, garbage, and other obstacles were removed from various locations with the help of heavy machinery and excavators.
Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2026.
