Girl dies after falling from swing in Delhi

A five-year-old girl died after falling off a swing in a park in the national capital, police said Friday.

According to the police, Reena was Thursday evening playing on a swing in a park, located in west Delhi's Moti Nagar area, when she fell from it and suffered a head injury.

Police said the child's mother Mamta, who works as a domestic help for the area's municipal councillor Surender Kaur, told them that she was working at the councillor's house when she was informed about the incident.

The girl was rushed to a nearby hospital where the doctors declared her brought dead.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Pushpendra Kumar told IANS: "Our preliminary inquiry found that the girl fell from the swing but we are verifying the claims of the resident. So far, no complaint has been given to us in the matter."

A resident told IANS that the swing was in degraded condition about which the civic agency had been informed.

"She was playing on swing when it suddenly broke and the girl fell on the ground along with its broken part," the resident, who did not wish to be named, said.

The girl's mother said: "When I rushed to the spot, people had already taken my daughter to hospital. In a few minutes, I got to know that Reena is no more."

Meanwhile, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) suspended five of its staff for negligence in duty. Besides, its commissioner Praveen Gupta ordered a probe into incident.

Five staff, including a deputy director and an assistant director of the concerned zone, were placed under suspension pending inquiry, a NDMC statement said.

"The commissioner has given directions to all the concerned departments to inspect playing apparatus swings in parks and schools immediately," the statement said.