Four labourers and their supervisor died of asphyxiation after they went inside a 14-foot-deep manhole in a Ghaziabad colony without safety gear on Thursday evening.
The workers were connecting the one-and-a half-foot wide manhole to an under-construction sewer line in the Krishna Kunj colony of Nandgram area of the city.
An FIR has been registered against the contractor, EMS Infracon and Jal Nigam officials. Four Jal Nigam officials have been suspended.
The victims hailed from Samastipur, Bihar, and have identified as Damodar (40), Horli (35), Sandeep(30), Shiv Kumar (32), and their supervisor, Vijay Kumar (40).
SP (City) Shlok Kumar said that preliminary investigation has revealed that safety gear was not provided to the labourers.
“An FIR under Section 304 (culpable homicide) and relevant sections of the SC/ST Act has been registered against the private contractor and the Jal Nigam officials on the basis of the complaint lodged by Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation,” Mr. Kumar said.
GMS sources said that EMS Infracon will be black-listed.
District Magistrate Dr Ajay Shankar Pandey has announced a magisterial inquiry that will submit its report in 15 days.
Local sources said that rainwater had collected inside the manhole and that led to the accumulation of gas inside the chamber. “It all happened within five minutes,” said Rajveer, who runs a shop nearby.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a financial aid of ₹10 lakh each to family of the victims.
In July last year, three persons suffocated to death inside a sewer line Loni area.
