The search for a 10-year-old visually impaired girl who fell into an open drainage line in Ahmedabad’s Piplaj area has entered its 11th day without a confirmed breakthrough, while pieces of flesh found near a river have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for identification.
The pieces were found on Tuesday afternoon, after which the fire department called the police to the location. Authorities have not confirmed whether they belong to the missing girl or an animal. The material will be identified only after the FSL report, according to the report by Gujarat Samachar – Ahmedabad.
The girl fell into the open drain on 10 October while she was with her mother. The mother was reportedly paying an autorickshaw driver when the child fell into the uncovered drainage line. Fire department teams have been conducting a search since then, but the girl has not been traced.
A fire department official said the search has been complicated by the continuous flow of chemically contaminated water through the drainage line and the large quantity of sludge inside it. These conditions have made access, movement and rescue work difficult during the operation.
The unresolved search has also raised questions about the condition and management of open drainage infrastructure in a city that presents itself as a smart city. The incident has drawn attention to the gap between large civic budgets and basic public safety at street level, particularly where uncovered drains remain accessible to pedestrians.
According to the report, the drainage line where the girl fell has since been covered with soil and closed. The step has raised concerns about whether it could slow or restrict further search operations while the child remains untraced and the identity of the material recovered from the river is still unknown.
The immediate investigation now involves two parallel tasks: continuing efforts to locate the child and establishing through forensic testing whether the recovered pieces are connected to the case. The FSL report is expected to determine the identity of the material, while the search operation and police inquiry remain ongoing.
