Building owner, contractor arrested in east Delhi septic tank death

Delhi Police arrested a building owner and contractor after a laborer died inhaling toxic gases in a septic tank, lacking safety gear.

The Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested a 28-year-old building owner and a contractor in connection with the death of a daily wage labourer who allegedly inhaled toxic gases while cleaning a septic tank at a residential building in east Delhi’s New Ashok Nagar on Sunday.

A view of the site in New Ashok Nagar where a 55-year-old daily-wage worker allegedly died within minutes of entering a septic tank on Sunday. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Police identified the accused as Deepak, the owner of the four-storey building where the incident took place, and contractor Anil Kumar. A 32-year-old plumber who attempted to rescue the labourer also lost consciousness and is currently undergoing treatment at Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital.

Deputy commissioner of police (east) Rajeev Kumar said preliminary inquiry and spot inspection revealed that no safety equipment or protective gear had been provided during the septic tank cleaning work.

“Accordingly, a case was registered and the two were arrested,” he said.

The deceased was identified as 55-year-old Vinod Kumar, a daily wage labourer who, according to locals and family members, was initially reluctant to enter the septic tank due to his age, lack of experience in such work and absence of safety gear.

However, the building owner and contractor allegedly pressured him to enter the tank.

“The owner assured him that it would only take a few minutes. Within five minutes, he became unconscious. Dharmendra was then asked to go in and rescue him, but he too fainted,” said Kamal Kishore, a neighbour.

Police said Vinod started suffocating within minutes of entering the tank and screamed for help. Dharmendra Kumar, a plumber present at the spot, entered the tank in an attempt to rescue him but also lost consciousness soon after. Locals said timely rescue and medical attention saved the plumber’s life.

Vinod’s son-in-law, Chandarpal, told HT that the building owner knew Vinod and would often call him for work.

“When Deepak approached him on Sunday, he agreed because he hoped to earn ₹200- ₹500 rather than sit idle at home. But he was not provided any safety gear. He worked as a labourer for decades but never received any training for such cleaning work,” Chandarpal said.

HT met the injured plumber at the hospital on Tuesday. He said he entered the septic tank unprepared in an attempt to pull out the unconscious labourer.

“Deepak had called me to install taps in the building. At first, we thought the labourer had fainted, so Deepak asked me to go in and pull him out, but I also lost consciousness. I didn’t know Vinod, but someone had to bring him out. I had never entered a septic tank before, but everything happened so suddenly that I didn’t have time to think,” said Dharmendra, a father of three children under the age of 10.

A resident of Noida Sector 16, Vinod is survived by his wife, Rajni, a homemaker. The couple’s two married sons and daughter live separately in the same locality.