Sect 150: Contractor, guard die while cleaning STP at Noida society; 4 detained

Two men, a contractor who was cleaning a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and a guard who attempted to rescue him, allegedly died after inhaling toxic gases at a society in Sector 150, Noida, police said on Sunday

Two men, a contractor who was cleaning a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and a guard who attempted to rescue him, allegedly died after inhaling toxic gases at a society in Sector 150, Noida, police said on Sunday.

According to police,the maintenance staff hired a private company for cleaning and contractor was sent by them to clean the STP installed inside the society for watering plants. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Police said the incident took place around 3:30 am at the Eldeco Society and identified the victim as Shashikant Sharma, 40, a resident of Karauli, Rajasthan, and 22-year-old Akash Singh, who worked as a security guard and originally belonged to Firozabad.

It was not clear why the contractor was carrying out the cleaning at this hour. Several Eldeco staff members and project managers did not respond to HT’s calls and messages for comment.

A case has been registered and four people from the society have been detained in connection with the matter, said police.

According to police,the maintenance staff hired a private company for cleaning and contractor was sent by them to clean the STP installed inside the society for watering plants. Police said they are investigating why contractor was carrying out cleaning work early Sunday morning.

Around 3.30 am, the contractor entered the 12-foot-deep tank with the help of a rope. He did not wear any safety gear, saying that it was routine work for him, said a police officer, part of the investigation, requesting anonymity. “After inhaling toxic gases, the contractor lost consciousness.”

Seeing his motionless body, people from the society at the spot called out for help, alerting the guards deployed at the society’s gate.

“Without wearing any safety gear, one of the guards jumped in to rescue the contractor,” the officer added. He too fell unconscious after he entered the STP.

The second guard then secured himself with a rope and entered the STP to help the two victims. However, he immediately began to feel uneasy and shouted for help. He was pulled out by the people standing around.

Neither the first guard nor the contractor had secured themselves with a rope and so could not be safely pulled out by people at the site without entering the STP. The police were informed and fire department officials arrived at the scene at4am.

Fire personnel, wearing masks and carrying oxygen cylinders, then entered the tank and pulled the two men out. They were rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead. A post-mortem was conducted before their bodies were handed over to their families, the officials added.

Ravi Shanka Nim, deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida, said, “A case under section 106 (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers as their Rehabilitation Act was registered against the maintenance staff, management, and security supervisor of Eldeco society, and four people have been detained. It is also being investigated how they allowed it and why they did not provide safety measures to the contractor before he went inside the tank.”