Kamal Dhyani’s kin grieve as court grants bail to contractors

Days after 25-year-old Kamal Dhyani fell into a pit in Delhi’s Janakpuri, his grieving parents sit in a corner of their home, their sorrow deepened after a Delhi court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to the two accused contractors.

On the intervening night of February 5 and 6, Kamal, a bank employee, fell into a nearly 15-foot-deep pit allegedly dug by the Delhi Jal Board in west Delhi’s Janakpuri. His family has alleged that there were no adequate safety measures around the site.

A Delhi court granted interim protection from arrest to the two contractors, Himanshu Gupta and Kavish Gupta, against whom arrest warrants had earlier been issued, and directed Delhi Police to file a detailed status report in connection with the FIR registered in the case.

In tears, his mother, Shanti Dhyani, said that the bail order has doubled the family’s grief. “The last time I spoke to Kamal was around twelve o’clock. He told me, ‘I am coming home. Please prepare food for me and also send some for my brother.’ After that, he never spoke to me again. We kept calling him, but there was no response,” she said.

Calling it a “failure” of the administration, she added that today it happened to her son, tomorrow it could happen to someone else’s child. Those who have been granted bail should not be allowed to go free, she said, adding that they seek nothing except justice.

Recounting the frantic hours before they learnt of their son’s death, Kamal’s father described the desperate search through the night.

“I last spoke to him at around 8.30 pm and again at 11.30 pm. At 11.57 pm, he called his elder brother and said he would reach home in 15 minutes. After that, his phone kept ringing, but there was no response. By 12.30 am, we started searching for him. We looked everywhere through the night, but at around 8.30 in the morning, we came to know that he died after falling into a pit,” he said.

Alleging negligence at multiple levels, he added, “Everyone involved must be held accountable, whether it is the Delhi Jal Board, the contractor, district officials or even the police. If action had been taken on time, this tragedy might have been prevented. We are not satisfied. We expect justice.”

Calling it a “war for justice”, Kamal’s uncle said the family would pursue the matter both legally and publicly. “This is a war for justice. We will get justice, whether by asking for it or fighting for it,” he said.

Referring to safety norms, he added, “The Supreme Court has laid down strict guidelines, yet a 20 to 25-foot-deep pit was dug without proper safety measures. How did they get bail so quickly? This was not an accident; I call it a murder. A murder case should be registered against all those responsible.

“We condemn the legal leniency given to the accused. Along with that, we demand that the family be given financial compensation and their younger son must be given a stable job.”

Questioning accountability, he further said that power may change faces, but its character remains the same. “Instead of punishing those responsible, attempts are being made to protect them. If the Government does not act, we will fight in court and we will also fight on the streets,” he said.

Expressing anger over the bail, Kamal’s friend Altaf Alam said the community feels unheard. “We just heard that bail has been granted. The Government is not listening to us. Kamal’s case is still not resolved. Today it is Kamal; tomorrow it could be someone else. The Government must learn from this tragedy and take strict action so that such incidents do not happen again,” he said.