Days after biker's death, open manhole kills labourer in Delhi

A labourer's tragic death after falling into an uncovered manhole in Delhi's Rohini highlights critical safety concerns and negligence in maintaining city infrastructure

Four days after a 25-year-old private bank employee died after falling into a pit dug by the Delhi Jal Board, a labourer died after falling into an uncovered manhole in the Begumpur area of Delhi's Rohini.

The body of the labourer was recovered from a manhole after an overnight delay in reporting the incident, the police said on Tuesday.

According to the police, a PCR call was received at 2.36 pm on Tuesday regarding a missing person suspected to have fallen into the sewer on vacant DDA land in Sector-32, Rohini.

"A team from the Begumpur police station immediately rushed to the spot. The caller, Amir Hussain, a resident of Bihar, told the police that his friend Birju Kumar Rai (32), a labourer, was missing since Monday," a senior police officer said.

During preliminary inquiry, another labourer, Budhan Das alias Suraj (33), informed the police that he and Birju had consumed alcohol on Monday night. He said that around 7.30 pm, while they were returning to their jhuggi located nearby, Birju lost balance and fell into an open manhole.

The police said Das did not inform anyone about the incident at night as he was intoxicated.

"He contacted Amir Hussain only on Tuesday afternoon after regaining his senses, following which the police control room was alerted," the officer said.

After reaching the site, the police informed the fire brigade, the DDA and other agencies concerned, and a rescue operation was launched. The body of the victim was subsequently recovered from the open manhole with the assistance of the fire brigade.

The body has been sent to the hospital for post-mortem examination and further legal proceedings are being carried out, the police said, adding that further investigation is underway. "We are checking CCTV footage. Further investigation is ongoing," the officer said.

A friend of the deceased, Sunil Kumar, said that Rai died when he was returning home after having drinks with his friends and fell into the open manhole. He was accompanied by a person at the time, he said, adding that he might have accidentally slipped into the sewer.

"We found one of his slippers inside the sewer. When we went closer to check and identify it, we realised that he must have fallen into the open manhole," he said.

Just a day earlier, when he was with me, he said that he wanted to take his family to a doctor as they were unwell, Sunil added.

This is entirely the government's fault. If the sewer had been properly covered, he would not have lost his life, he alleged.

The incident comes close on the heels of the death of a 25-year-old private bank employee who fell into a pit allegedly dug by the Delhi Jal Board in west Delhi's Janakpuri area. The police have arrested two men in the Janakpuri case so far.

The police said statements of witnesses are being recorded and the role of agencies responsible for maintaining the sewer infrastructure in the area is being examined.