Doctor Charged Over 7-Year-Old’s Pool Drowning

India-West News Desk

ORLANDO, FL – A 48-year-old physician from Louisiana has been charged with aggravated manslaughter over the death of a seven-year-old boy at a community swimming pool in Orlando, Florida, after allegedly failing to intervene while he was in distress.

Sukanthini Subbiah was visiting family in the Everbe neighborhood when she took Khushil Bandi, his twin sister, and her own son to the pool on April 10, according to court records.

Surveillance footage cited in an arrest warrant affidavit showed the children entering the pool at 6.19 p.m. Within a minute, Khushil began splashing vigorously as he struggled in the water.

Subbiah allegedly watched the boy and sent the other two children to help him. Khushil remained submerged for about seven minutes before another person at the pool pulled him out. Subbiah attempted CPR, but the boy died, the affidavit said.

Police initially treated the death as accidental. After reviewing footage and conducting interviews, investigators concluded that Subbiah’s alleged failure to act amounted to culpable negligence. The affidavit said she was the only adult responsible for the boy and had the opportunity and ability to intervene.

Subbiah was booked into Orange County Jail on October 12.

Her attorney, Rajan Joshi, told WFTV that she would contest the charges. He argued that the incident did not warrant criminal liability, describing Subbiah as someone who had dedicated her career to saving lives and had no previous problems with the law.