Toxic gas case: death toll rises to three

A 34-year-old Deputy Chief Engineer of Vivanta by Taj, who had inhaled toxic gases after being trapped inside the hotel’s sewage treatment plant, died on May 4, the police said on Monday.

The sewage treatment plant of Vivanta by Taj is located in the adjoining building. On April 29, five men were trapped inside the plant and inhaled the poisonous gases. They were not wearing any safety gear, the police said.

Gaurav Sukheja, the hotel’s Deputy Chief Engineer, who was undergoing treatment at a hospital, died on May 4, the police said.

Two persons — Vikram Singh, a 26-year-old contractual security guard of the hotel, and Ravindra Kumar (40) who worked as a contractual maintenance staff at the sewer plant run by Eco Pollutech Engineers company, had earlier died on May 1.

The arrests

The police have arrested the directors of the company that was in-charge of running the sewage treatment plant. They had surrendered in the Patiala House Court on Saturday, the police said. They are currently in judicial custody, they added.

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Two other victims, Nityanand, a 51-year-old member of the plumbing staff at the hotel, and Kamdev Patra, a 58-year-old contractual maintenance staff of Eco Pollutech Engineers, are still undergoing treatment. They are said to be stable, the police said.

The police have recorded the statement of Nityanand who said that he got a call from Ravindra informing him about some problem at the plant. He told the police that when he entered the plant, he lost consciousness and does not remember anything after that, the police added.