Boy slips further into borewell as rescue operations continue
Tiruchirappalli, Oct 26: Rescue operations continued on Saturday night to pull out a three-year-old boy who fell into an abandoned borewell near Manapparai in the district, even as authorities suffered a setback as the the child slipped further.
The child, who fell into the 600 ft borewell while playing near his house at Nadukattupatti on Friday evening, was initially stuck at a depth of 35 feet but drifted further to over 90 feet with efforts to rescue him commencing last evening.
Oxygen is being continuously supplied to the boy who has been trapped since 5.30 pm.
According to officials, six teams were involved in the rescue operations.
"We could hear the child weeping.. for a long time.. but now we cannot hear. But we feel the child is safe and breathing," the officials said.
Authorities said they were unable to assess the boy's condition because of the layers of wet mud around him.
Specialised teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and state Disaster Response Force (SDRF) joined the rescue operations.
State Health and Family Welfare Minister C Vijayabaskar, who has been camping at the site since Friday night, said all efforts were on to save the child.
A parallel borewell of one metre in diameter was beingdug to rescue the child, he added.
The efforts would require three to four hours, he noted.
Minister Vellamandi Natarajan was also overseeing the rescue operations.
Hundreds of people in the state prayed for the child, with political leaders such as DMK president M K Stalin and AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran joining them in wishing that the boy was rescued at the earliest.
According to officials, efforts to rescue the child included the use of modern equipment.
Meanwhile, the district administration ordered that all open bore wells in the district be closed.
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Unnao rape case: SC sets aside order suspending Sengar's life term, asks HC to decide plea afresh
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday set aside a Delhi High Court order suspending the life sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case and asked it to decide the plea afresh.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also asked the high court to make endeavours to decide the main plea of Sengar against his conviction and life imprisonment in the case within two months.
It further said that if it was not possible for the high court to decide the main plea expeditiously, then it should pass an order on a plea of Sengar seeking the suspension of the life term in the case before the start of the summer vacation there.
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The bench, which had earlier set aside the HC order granting bail to Sengar after a huge public uproar over the issue, said that it did not express any opinion on the merits of the case and the high court could proceed with it afresh.
The CJI also asked the HC to decide afresh issues like whether an MLA can be treated as a public servant for being prosecuted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Earlier, the top court had deferred to the first week of May the hearing on a petition filed by the CBI challenging the suspension of life imprisonment of the former MLA in the rape case.
On December 29 last year, the top court stayed the Delhi High Court order suspending Sengar's life sentence and said he shall not be released from custody.
In its order dated December 23, 2025, the Delhi High Court had said that Sengar had been convicted under Section 5 (C) (aggravated penetrative sexual assault by a public servant) of the POCSO Act but an elected representative does not fit the definition of a "public servant" under Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.
The high court had suspended the jail term of Sengar, who was serving life imprisonment in the Unnao rape case, till the pendency of his appeal, saying he had already served seven years and five months in prison.
The high court order has sparked criticism from various sections of society and protests were held by the victim, her family and activists.
