Delhi Jal Board pit turns death trap for Delhi biker

The tragedy bore similarities to a similar incident in Noida on Jan 17, where a software engineer died after his car fell into a water-filled excavation pit.

New Delhi : A 25-year-old bank telecaller died in west Delhi’s Janakpuri in the early hours of Friday after allegedly falling into an at least 4.5-metre deep, uncovered and unsecured pit dug by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on a poorly lit road, underlining serious administrative apathy and a disturbing flouting of norms by authorities.

The autopsy of the victim was carried out and its report was awaited, said the DCP. (PTI)

Kamal Dhyani, who worked as an assistant manager at a call centre run by HDFC Bank,according to police, finished his shift and got on his TVS Apache motorcycle for the roughly 20-km commute back home to Kailashpuri in Palam Colony. At 11.53 pm, he called his twin brother Karan, saying he was only 15 minutes away and shared his location.

That was not to be.

Around 8am on Friday, local residents saw Dhyani’s body caked in mud at the bottom of the pit, his backpack and helmet intact, the damaged motorcycle over his body. “I could see that the victim was lying inside the pit with his motorcycle on top of him. People then jumped inside and removed the bike, only to discover that he had no pulse,” said Rajneesh Sharma, 48, who was among the first on the scene.

Deputy commissioner of police (west) Sharad Bhaskar said that at 8.03am on Friday, the Janakpuri police station received a call from a woman who informed that one person had fallen into a 15-foot pit outside B3B residential colony near Andhra School in Janakpuri. A police team found Dhyani and the motorcycle inside the pit dug by DJB on Joginder Singh Marg.

“The victim was taken out of the pit with the help of Delhi fire services (DFS) staff and taken to Deen Dayal Hospital, where the attending doctor declared him dead. The dead man, identified as Kamal Dhyani, was a resident of Kailashpuri in Palam Colony in west Delhi. He was returning home from his office in Rohini, where he was working in the call centre of HDFC bank,” said Bhaskar. A case of culpable homicide was registered under section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the contractor and officials of DJB at the Janakpuri police station.

The autopsy was carried out and its report was awaited, the DCP said. Dhyani is survived by his parents and two brothers, including his twin.

Local residents alleged that the rectangular pit – which was dug up to lay an underground sewer line just 48 hours before — was not covered and barricaded from any of the four sides. Two long iron barricades were installed at one end of the carriageway which was dug up, but they were at least 50m from the pit and positioned such that pedestrians and two-wheelers could pass through.

“Two barricades were placed on one side of the carriageway but there was a gap using which two-wheelers had been passing through,” said Vikram Diwan, president of B3B residential colony residents welfare association (RWA).

The other end of the stretch was not guarded or barricaded, said Diwan.

It wasn’t clear whether Dhyani didn’t see the pit in the darkness – HT found on Friday that only two of the four street lights on the stretch were working–and therefore could not brake in time, or lost balance and slipped while trying to pass through the narrow space on the right side of the pit. On Friday, HT saw several local residents negotiate the precarious strip on the side of the pit to get to their homes and destinations.

Yogesh Wadhwa, who works at a shop 20 metres from the site, said barricading appeared only after the fatal incident.

“There was minimal protection in the form of barricading. The pit outside my shop was also properly secured only this morning. Earlier, we only had tarpaulin sheets guarding the site,” said Wadhwa, adding while physical barricades existed on one side of the road – from where the victim likely entered – the other side had no barricades.

At least one guard, reportedly employed either by DJB or the contractor carrying out the sewer line work, was staying in a makeshift tent on the footpath adjacent to the pit, locals and police said. However, the guard was found missing on Friday.

Delhi water minister Parvesh Verma ordered the immediate suspension of the executive engineer, assistant engineer and junior engineer responsible for supervising the work. The contractor executing the project was placed under investigation, with the government stating that strict action, including blacklisting, will follow if violations are established.

“The tragedy has caused deep pain to the affected family, and the government stands firmly with them in this difficult time. Public safety is paramount. Any failure in adhering to established safety standards will be dealt with strictly, both administratively and contractually,” Verma said.

Dhyani’s family members accused the civic authorities and Delhi Police of negligence and recklessness.

Karan said when Dhyani didn’t reach home 40 minutes after their call and stopped answering his phone, family members launched a frantic search, worried because Dhyani had met with two road accidents in the past.

In the following nearly six hours, family members and friends alleged they visited at least six police stations, pleading for help but did not get it.

“We visited Rohini, Sagarpur, Dabri, Palam Village, Janakpuri, and Vikaspuri police stations, requesting to register my brother’s missing case and make efforts to find him. But the personnel refused saying the case will be registered only after 24 hours,” said Karan.

Bhaskar said that the Karan and his friends reached Vikaspuri police station at 1.35 am, where they were shown all medico-legal certificates and accident calls received on Thursday and told that no information about Dhyani or his motorcycle was received.

“At 2.50 am, they reported Dhyani’s disappearance at the Janakpuri police station. Sub-inspector Awant promptly took the missing person’s mobile location which was showing near Possangipur Park. The search of Dhyani by head constable Ramkesh, constable Tejpal and a home guard jawan Vikas along with family members was made in the park as per location and nearby parking spaces and colony. But despite continuous search for hours together neither Kamal nor his vehicle was located,” added Bhaskar.

A DJB statement claimed that the service road where “underground sewer line laying work” was happening was “barricaded and closed for public safety” – something the family and local residents categorically denied.

“However, additional safety measures should have been adopted. On grounds of prima facie negligence, the executive engineer, assistant engineer and junior engineer of the concerned project division have been suspended,” DJB said in a statement.

Verma also announced an ex-gratia compensation of ₹10 lakh for the deceased’s family.

The Opposition, however, mounted a sharp attack. AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal blamed the BJP government, saying, “This was not an accident, but a killing… Gross negligence and an irresponsible attitude have now become the hallmark of BJP governments.”

The tragedy bore similarities to a similar incident in Noida on January 17, where a 27-year-old software engineer died after his car fell into a water-filled excavation pit. Seven days later, DJB explicitly commanded engineers and contractors to “ensure adequate safety arrangements at all construction and excavation sites.” It mandated proper barricading, reflector tapes, green nets, signboards, lane markers, and strict adherence to all public safety protocols”.

Yet, Friday showed that little had changed.