Three held for death of sewage workers at DJB plant

The Delhi police on Thursday arrested three persons, including the plant in-charge, a day after two labourers died after falling in a pit at Delhi Jal Board’s sewage treatment plant in east Delhi’s Kondli.

The accused have been identified as K.P. Tewari, the plant in-charge, Raj Kumar, the supervisor, and Mohd. Haroon, the shift in-charge.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Priyanka Kashyap said a case under IPC section 304A (causing death by negligence) and Section 9 of Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act has been lodged at the New Ashok Nagar police station.

The police received a call on Wednesday around 5 p.m. regarding two persons working at a DJB plant in Kondli having fallen in a pit, following which, a team rushed to the spot. After a 2-hour-long rescue operation, the two workers were brought out of the pit with the help of Delhi Fire Service personnel. They were later declared dead at a hospital, the police said.

The deceased were identified as Nitesh, 25, and Yashdev, 35 — both residents of U.P. The two were called in the afternoon to carry out repair work but eventually fell into the pit.