A Delhi biker died as he fell in an open Jal Board pit after which the Delhi government suspended three Delhi Jal Board engineers, including an executive engineer, an assistant engineer and a junior engineer. The fatal incident took place in South West Delhi’s Janakpuri.
Delhi govt has suspended 3 Jal Board engineers in connection with Janakpuri accident
Days after Noida techie drowned at an under-construction site in Greater Noida, a similar incident occurred in Delhi’s Janakpuri area where a biker died after falling in an open Jal Board pit on Thursday night. Raising similar safety concerns and questions on the administration’s lack of accountability, the Delhi government has suspended three Delhi Jal Board engineers, including an executive engineer, an assistant engineer and a junior engineer. The fatal incident took place in Southwest Delhi’s Janakpuri.
The deceased identified as 25-year-old Kamal Dhyani was returning home on his motorcycle when the accident occurred, said police.
Family search in panic, fear
Dhyani’s brother claimed that the family did not recieve any help even after visiting six police stations and received the information only after calling him on his phone in the morning, which was received by an official to extend the news of his death. “When I last talked to him, he said he would reach home in 10 minutes. When I called him again at 12:30 am, he didn’t pick up. We got worried. We started looking for him. I first went to his office in Rohini, then to the Janakpuri police station. The police gave us his last location in this area. We kept looking for him but couldn’t find him. This is gross carelessness. My brother was not crazy that he would deliberately crash into the pit… At 1:30 am, I checked this pit, but he was not there at that time. We visited atleast 6 police stations but did not receive any help… In the morning, when I again called my brother’s phone number, the police picked up the call and informed us that his body had been recovered from the pit… Had the police got into action on time, my brother would have been alive,” he stated.
The deceased’s friend stated that upon reaching the police station, he was told to wait till 11 am to file a complaint. The police agreed to track the phone but did not share the exact location. Reportedly, a group of seven people tried to find the victim but failed. “I had talked to him last night when he had reached the District Centre. He was just 15 minutes from home. We waited for an hour, but he didn’t come. An hour later, we came to the District Centre. He had been in accidents twice before, so we thought something like that might have happened. He wasn’t picking up our calls. His bike was nowhere to be seen. When we went to the police station to file a complaint, we were told that our complaint would not be registered before 11 am. Upon request, the police helped us find the location of my friend and asked us to look for him in a 200-metre radius here. 7 people were searching for him from midnight to 7 am, but we could not find him. At 1 am, when we checked the pit, he was not there. We were on this road all the time, but we don’t understand how he ended up here after we checked…” he said.
Lack of accountability by authorities
Dhyani’s friend condemned the police department, saying that they neglected the urgency of the situation by not providing the exact location of his mobile phone during the search, resulting in his death. He further questioned how his phone could not be tracked last night. “When we went back home at 7 am, we received a call from my friend’s phone, and the police informed us that he was in the pit. Why could his phone not be traced by the police at night? We suspect he was killed… What must his parents be going through… We still haven’t informed his mother… He was 25 years old and worked at the HDFC Bank call centre in Rohini Sector 10… Police have been deployed, and barricades have been set up around the pit now. Why couldn’t they do it earlier? My friend could have been saved…” he stated.
DCP West Sharad Bhaskar said, “A pit was dug for some work of the Delhi Jal Board. Last night, 25-year-old Kamal Dhyani’s bike fell into this pit, and he unfortunately died. We will investigate all stakeholders of this DJB work. The deceased’s brother came to Janakpuri Police Station around 2:45 am, and he informed that his brother had not reached home yet. The police tracked his mobile phone, which was indicating Janakpuri District Park. Head Constable Ramkesh searched for the deceased with the family members for about 2.5 hours, but they couldn’t find him. At 8 am today, a woman called the police and informed them that a body was lying in a 15-foot deep pit. This is when everything came to light… As of now, we know that the family visited PS Janakpuri, but if the family says they did not receive help from 6-7 police stations, we will look into it… FIR is being registered… The bike will be pulled out of the pit soon.”
Investigation underway
Delhi Minister Ashish Sood expressed grief over the incident and stressed that anyone from the Jal Board found responsible for overlooking the safety protocols will not be spared.
“I received news of this unfortunate accident around 8:30-9 am, and I have been here since then… Delhi Jal Board work was in progress here, and I have instructed the Jal Board to investigate the safety protocols. If anyone is found responsible, they will not be spared… The Jal Board had conducted an audit of all safety protocols and issued circulars… The police are looking into the cause of the accident… Any official from the Jal Board found responsible for jeopardising the safety measures will not be spared…” he stated.
The Delhi Jal Board expressed grief on the death of the youth and stressed that a committe has been formed to look into the matter.
In a post on X, the Delhi Jal Board assured strict action against the responsible official, irrespective of their post.
(Inputs from ANI)
