The body of a man who fell into a 40-foot-deep borewell at a Delhi Jal Board sewage treatment plant here was pulled out after a nearly 14-hour-long operation on Sunday, police said.
The man is yet to be identified. Sources said the borewell was in a locked room and was abandoned.
Delhi Water Minister Atishi visited the spot to take stock of the situation while the BJP targeted the AAP dispensation over the incident, calling it "shameful" and demanding compensation for the victim.
Later, Atishi directed the Delhi Chief Secretary to conduct a time-bound enquiry and take strong and exemplary action against any officers found responsible for the incident. The chief secretary was also directed to ensure that all abandoned borewells, government and private, are welded and sealed immediately.
Information about the man falling into the borewell at the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) plant in west Delhi's Keshopur Mandi area was received around 1 am. The rescue efforts were led by teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Delhi Fire Services (DFS).
As part of the rescue operation, the NDRF had dug another well parallel to the borewell into which the man had fallen.
A senior police officer said the person was brought out from the borewell dead. "It appears that he was aged between 25 and 35 years. Efforts are being made to identify him," he said.
According to government officials, the borewell was inside a locked room. "So whoever entered the borewell room would have done so by breaking the lock and the door," an official said.
Officials said there was a possibility of foul play since it is not easy for an adult to fall in a borewell of 12-inch diameter. "So the victim might have been pushed in," an official said.
However, police have not said anything about foul play in the incident.
In a post on X, Atishi shared the news about the death of the man. "How he entered the borewell room, how he fell inside the borewell this will be investigated by the police. I thank the NDRF team who made every possible effort in the rescue operation for many hours," she said in the post.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal shared the news of the man's death in a post on X and thanked the NDRF for its rescue operation.
"Got the sad news that the man who fell into the borewell was found dead. May his soul rest in peace. I would like to thank NDRF whose team made every possible effort during the 14-hour-long operation. The NDRF has supported the people of Delhi in all difficult times," he said on X.
Earlier in the day he said that the DJB has been instructed to carry out a probe into the incident and warned of strict action against officers found responsible for it. He also said that all abandoned borewells, government and private, would be sealed within 48 hours.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said, "The death of a person after falling into a borewell located on the premises of Delhi Jal Board is painful. The Kejriwal government should give compensation for the accidents caused by the DJB's negligence in Keshopur and Alipur."
"Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi tweeting that the borewell room is safe is a disgusting conspiracy to save their government and DJB officials. The Kejriwal government continuously suppresses not only the scams of DJB but also the accidents because it is an equal partner in the misdeeds happening at board," he alleged.
