A child, visiting his grandmother with his mother, fell into the empty lift shaft of the five-storey building in Topsia on Tuesday afternoon.

He has been admitted to hospital.

The child’s condition is critical, police said.

The grandmother lives on the first floor. It is possible that the child fell from that height into the open shaft that has no guard wall or caution signs on any of the floors, the police said.

An officer said the child was missing for around an hour before he was brought out of the lift shaft. The shaft is at least 5ft deep. Water accumulated in it last week when heavy rain lashed the city.

Guddu, who will turn five this November, was last seen playing outside his grandmother’s apartment.

“Guddu was playing outside his grandmother’s flat while his mother had gone to a nearby store. His grandmother was inside the apartment. Guddu’s mother could not find him after she returned. After an hour of search, Guddu was found inside the empty lift shaft,” said a neighbour.

Guddu, a resident of Keshtopur, is the only child of his parents, the police said.

The woman who lives on the first floor has four daughters. Guddu’s mother is the youngest.

The five-year-old building is yet to get an elevator.

One of the residents blamed the promoter for handing the property to the flat owners without an elevator, keeping the lift shaft exposed.