New Delhi: A 23-year-old youth has died after allegedly inhaling toxic fumes while working at a DJB interceptor chamber in Anand Vihar. Police have booked the private contractor for negligence.
Suraj, a resident of Anand Vihar, worked under contract as a drain cleaner. According to his family members, on Monday, he had gone for work but didn't return home by 6 pm. When his father, Mahender, went looking for him and entered the plant, he found him lying unconscious near the drain chamber. He took Suraj to a hospital, where he was declared dead. Police were informed about the incident by the hospital authorities.
A senior police officer said based on the statement of Suraj's brother Kamal Lohar, a case under Section 106(1) (causing death by negligence) of BNS was registered at Anand Vihar police station against the contractor, identified as Mandeep.
"The family alleged that Suraj died because the contractor had failed to provide him safety equipment," the officer said, adding inquiry revealed that at the time of the incident, Suraj was not wearing a mask while cleaning. "He may have been asphyxiated due to toxic gases and fallen into the chamber. We are waiting for the post-mortem report," he said.
Suraj's father alleged, "No facilities had been given to my son. He used to earn Rs 8,000 as salary. We had asked them earlier to illuminate the area where the incident took place, but they didn't pay heed."
A DJB official said: "It is a DJB site but the interconnecting chamber is managed by a private firm. The person who died was under its contract. We are getting more details."