Open construction pit kills 25-year-old in the Capital
A late-night commute ended in tragedy on Joginder Singh Marg in west Delhi’s Janakpuri area after a motorcyclist fell into a 15-20 feet-deep pit resulting in his death. The pit was dug by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) for construction work. The Delhi Government has suspended three DJB engineers and ordered a probe in this matter. The Government has also announced an ex-gratia of INR 10 lakh to the deceased’s family.
The deceased was identified as Kamal Dhyani (25), a resident of Kailashpuri, who worked in call centre in a private bank in Rohini. He was returning home from his work when the fatal accident occurred. The incident has raised fresh concerns about public safety and accountability at construction sites across Delhi-NCR, coming on heels of a 27-year-old drowning to death after his car fell into a waterlogged pit near a construction site in Noida’s Sector 150 on the intervening night of January 16 and 17.
Delhi Police has registered an FIR at Janakpuri Police Station against the contractor and concerned officials of DJB and launched an independent probe to examine possible negligence and responsibility under legal provisions. The DJB has constituted a high-level inquiry committee to fix responsibility, examine procedural shortcomings and recommend corrective measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
Delhi Jal Board Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma who inspected the accident site, said work at the site has been ongoing for the last three months but the pit was dug on Thursday.
Kamal’s family has questioned how such a dangerous excavation was left unprotected on a busy road. Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Darade Sharad Bhaskar said, “At around 8 am, a woman called the police control room to report that a man was lying inside a pit approximately 15 feet deep and was not moving. A police team immediately rushed to the spot.”
Preliminary investigation suggests that the pit was dug at a DJB construction site, which was barricaded, a senior police officer said. “We are investigating all aspects of the incident. This road has been closed for the past few days, and the pit was dug on Thursday. It is possible that the person used to take this route every day for commuting and was unaware of the pit,” the DCP said.
