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A day after two men died after being trapped in a sewer while it was being cleaned in Outer District’s Bakkarwala area Friday afternoon, the family of one of the victims alleged he was made to clean the sewer even though it was not his job to do so.
The incident took place on Friday afternoon at a DDA apartment complex in Pocket D, Loknayak Puram. The victims were identified as Rohit Chandilya (32), a private sweeper who worked at the complex, and Ashok (28), a guard at the society who tried to rescue Chandilya.
The youngest of three brothers, Chandilya worked as a private sweeper in various pockets around Loknayak Puram. Speaking to The Indian Express at the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital (SGM) mortuary, where the family was waiting to receive the body, Chandilya’s elder brother Rakesh Kumar said: “My friend called at 2 pm yesterday and told me Rohit had died while cleaning a sewer. I told him that he was mistaken, as my brother does not clean sewers for a living; he was a sweeper… I kept calling my brother’s phone, but he did not pick up. His death was confirmed in the evening, when we reached his home in Bakkarwala.”
His cousin, Poonam, alleged: “Our brother was asked to enter the sewer without any safety equipment. Usne kapde jo pehne the woh bhi utaar ke gaya hain. Action should be taken against whoever is responsible for this incident.”
Rohit is survived by his wife and three-year-old son, added his second brother, Deepak Kumar. “He moved to Bakkarwala five years ago after he got married and was living on rent in a JJ colony.”
Also at the mortuary was Ashok’s family.
According to his elder brother Ajay Kumar (40), it was a relative who broke the news of his death on Friday evening. “A relative called us around 4.30-5 pm yesterday, saying my brother was last seen near a sewer which was being cleaned in Loknayak Puram and can’t be found now. Some of our family members rushed from Pelpa Badli village in Jhajjar to the spot.”
Ashok and is survived by his wife and two children, he said. He had studied till Class X from a government school in the village and had been working as a guard for the DDA for several years, Kumar added.
Police had said that due to a block in the sewer, Rohit removed the manhole cover and entered inside but fell unconscious due to poisonous gases. Ashok, who went to rescue him, also lost consciousness. Two other people, including a plumber, tried to rescue them, but became uneasy. They were saved by residents, but Ashok and Rohit were too deep inside to reach. While calls were made to the Delhi Fire Services, police arranged a JCB and hammer to break the ground around the manhole. Around 5 pm, their bodies were taken out.
Police have registered a case under IPC section 304A (causing death by negligence). “Investigation is at a nascent stage, and therefore it is difficult to pinpoint the culprit. The bodies of the deceased have been handed over to their families after post-mortem. The autopsy report has not been received yet,” police sources said.
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