Auto driver drowns in flooded pedestrian underpass

Gurgaon: Heavy rains claimed the life of an auto driver, who drowned in a flooded pedestrian underpass at Rajiv Chowk on Monday.
The man, identified as Durgesh (24), used to live with his family in Baldev Nagar. On Monday morning, he had headed out with his auto for work. Around 5pm, the police control room received information that a youth was spotted in a waterlogged underpass, following which cops from the Shivaji Nagar police station, along with a fire brigade team, reached the area.
The fire brigade team had to navigate the flooded underpass with the help of a boat in order to rescue Durgesh. He was taken to Civil Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Durgesh was identified from the documents inside his pockets. Police later recovered his auto parked near the pedestrian underpass at Rajiv Chowk.
“The circumstances surrounding his death are not clear. We are investigating how and why he went into the waterlogged underpass,” said police spokesman Subhash Boken.
The underpass in which the body of Durgesh was found is meant for pedestrians and non-motorised transport. It is usually dark and dingy and not a preferred option for many who risk their lives by crossing the busy highway on foot instead of getting into it.
“This underpass has been in existence for about three years now and I have hardly seen people using it. It is mostly occupied by drug addicts and other anti-social elements. It is dark even during the day and is extremely unsafe. Had it been a busy underpass, someone would have seen the auto driver getting drowned and he could have been saved,” said Rahul Kumar, a Sector 15 resident.