Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Feb 11: A 32-year-old labourer died after falling into an open manhole on vacant Delhi Development Authority (DDA) land in Rohini, marking the second such fatal incident in the national capital within five days, police said on Tuesday.
According to Delhi Police, a PCR call was received at 2.36 pm reporting a missing person suspected to have fallen into a sewer. Police teams rushed to the spot following the call.
The caller, Amir Hussain, a resident of Bihar’s Darbhanga district, told police that his friends — Birju Kumar Rai (32) of Samastipur and Budhan Das alias Suraj (33) of Madhubani — had consumed alcohol on Monday night. At around 7.30 pm, while the two were returning to their nearby jhuggi, Birju allegedly lost his balance and fell into the open manhole.
Police said Budhan Das did not inform anyone immediately as he was intoxicated and alerted Amir Hussain only after regaining his senses the next afternoon, following which the PCR call was made.
After receiving the information, police informed the DDA, Fire Brigade and other concerned agencies, and a rescue operation was launched. The victim was pulled out of the manhole with the help of the Fire Brigade and rushed to hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
However, local residents alleged delays in the response. Sunil Kumar, who was present at the spot, claimed the man had fallen into the open drain during the night and that the administration was informed much later. Another local resident, Tejpal Yadav, alleged that officials acted only after an emergency call was made, claiming the man had been lying in the pit since the previous day.
Police said further investigation into the incident is underway. After recovery of the body, the open manhole was covered.
The incident comes days after 25-year-old Kamal Dhayani died after falling into a nearly 15-foot-deep pit while riding a motorcycle in west Delhi’s Janakpuri on February 5, again raising concerns over uncovered drains and pits across the city.
Earlier, a 27-year-old software engineer, Yuvraj Mehra, died after his car plunged into a water-filled pit in Greater Noida on the night of January 16-17, with alleged delays in rescue operations.