New Delhi, Jun 27: Three workers died after allegedly inhaling poisonous gas while cleaning a septic tank at a factory in outer Delhi’s Mundka area on Friday, with police arresting the factory owner, his associate and a contractor in connection with the incident, officials said.
According to the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), a call was received at 12.03 pm reporting that some people were trapped inside a septic tank at a factory in Mundka Industrial Area.
Police said the caller informed that “three men cleaning the tank had fallen inside”.
On reaching the spot, police found that Marwah Printers had hired a contractor, identified as Neeraj — a resident of Nangloi — to clean a septic tank inside the factory premises. Neeraj, along with three other workers, was carrying out the cleaning when the incident occurred.
The deceased were identified as Arun (25), Sandeep (32) and Chand (42), all residents of Sultanpuri. Police said the three allegedly fell unconscious after inhaling toxic fumes inside the tank.
Two fire tenders were initially rushed to the spot. However, due to heavy congestion en route, the rescue team reported a traffic jam at 12.23 pm. Another vehicle was then dispatched from the opposite direction via Tikri to expedite the rescue operation.
After arriving at the scene, fire personnel pulled out the three men from the tank, but they were found dead. The bodies were shifted to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Mangolpuri for postmortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of death.
Police said a case has been registered under sections 106 (death by negligence) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Section 9 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, and Section 3(1)(j) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Three persons have been arrested in connection with the case — factory owner Suraj Marwah (50), a resident of Mansarovar Garden; Jayant (61), a resident of Baprola Vihar; and Neeraj (35), the contractor and owner of the vehicle used to transport the workers to the site, police said.
The incident has left the families of the deceased devastated.
“My children have been asking me since morning where their father has gone. They were told that he met with an accident, and they have been inconsolable ever since,” Chand’s wife said, breaking down.
“I don’t know what to do now or how we will survive. He hardly went to work, but today he said he needed some money to repay a few loans, so he decided to go,” she said.
Sandeep’s mother said the family was on its way to Bhiwani for her eye treatment when they received the news.
“He was the only one looking after his two daughters, his ailing father, and me after his wife died. I don’t know how we will survive now,” she said.
Arun’s brother Narendra accused the factory management for sending the workers into the tank.
“He needed the money, so he agreed. He was only 25 years old, and now he has died in that tank. I don’t know who will take responsibility for this,” he said. (PTI)
