Prince (left) with brother Gaurav at the hospital. (PTI)

Chandigarh, July 25: Prince was discharged from Lok Nayak Civil Hospital in Kurukshetra this evening, but Haldari, his home village, was drowned in grief.

When the six-year-old returned home, a pall of gloom had descended on Haldari with the death of 15-year-old Sukhjit, a resident who was run over by a bus last night.

Rajesh Satyawadi, a villager, said Sukhjit had been of great help on the first night of Prince’s ordeal. “He ran around to get things that were needed. He did not sleep,” Satyawadi said.

Also, of the two buffaloes owned by Prince’s family, one has died while the other is ill as there was nobody to take care of them.

There were unconfirmed reports that a private TV channel had tried to whisk away Prince and his parents ? father Ramchander and mother Karamjit ? to New Delhi.

The boy, who was rescued on Sunday from a 60-foot-deep borewell by the army and residents of Haldari after a 50-hour ordeal, “is hale and hearty”, chief medical officer D.S. Saini said over phone.

“He had developed some complications and had to be administered mild medicines to put him to sleep,” he added.

Saini said the boy was suffering from anaemia and his parents had been briefed on the precautions they would have to take for the next few weeks.

“We have advised them to keep him where there are known faces around him. The diet, too, should have iron content. We have provided special instructions so Prince can be again brought either here or taken to Shahabad Civil Hospital for further treatment if needed.”

Haryana chief secretary Prem Prashand visited Prince in hospital today with fruits and toys.

He said a force equipped with modern safety equipment and appliances would be raised in the state to tackle accidents like the one that happened to Prince. The force, he added, would move in swiftly to take control of the situation.