Teen falls into canal while catching kite in Kota

A 14-year-old boy was swept away after he fell into a canal while running after a kite with his friends in Rajasthan's Kota district, police said Tuesday.

The incident occurred on the evening of 'Makar Sankranti' on Monday in RPS Colony area. Mohammad Ashif fell into Right Main Canal after climbing over its safety wall to catch a kite, police said.

Although, the incident occurred around 4.30 pm, Ashif's family members did not know till late night as his friends did not inform their family members out of fear of being thrashed and scolded, the police said.

When Ashif did not return home till late in the night and family members enquired about him among his friends, they were forced to narrate the truth at around 10.30 pm, but the search operation could not be put in place because of darkness, police said.

It started early Tuesday, but the body could not be fished out so far, police said.

"The current in the canal is very strong and the boy is likely to have swept away very far," Vishnu Shringi, incharge of the rescue team, said.