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Delhi man's death in a ditch: He was spotted falling, 'contractor knew but didn't alert', DCP shares tragic timeline
Kamal Dhyani was returning home when he fell into the nearly 15-foot-deep pit dug for a sewer pipeline rehabilitation project of the Delhi Jal Board
In the case of a man's death by falling into a construction ditch at a Delhi Jal Board project in Janakpuri, police on Saturday said they had found an eyewitness who had informed the sub-contractor's staff there that night, but the staff and their employer did nothing to help.
Sharad Bhaskar Darade, deputy commissioner of police, West district, shared the investigator's version of events so far, with key time stamps, about Kamal Dhyani's death.
“We have arrested a sub-contractor, Rajesh Kumar Prajapati. I would like to share some facts with you,” the police officer said.
Eyewitness of the bike falling
“During the investigation, we came to know that a man named Vipin Singh, who was returning from a relative's wedding in Rohini to his home in Sagarpur in a four-wheeler, saw a motorcycle falling into a ditch,” the DCP said.
This was just after midnight, meaning early hours of Friday.
“(Vipin Kumar) then went into the road carriageway and told a guard about it. The guard then told a labourer, whose name is Yogesh,” he said.
The labourer saw the motorcycle's headlight on, in the ditch, the DCP said. “As it was dark, he could only see a human figure.”
‘Worker called contractor’
E-surveillance and mobile phone and call details put the scene together.
"At 12.22 am, Yogesh called his boss, Rajesh Kumar Prajapati, who lives in Tri Nagar, and told him a motorcycle had fallen into the ditch. Prajapati and his colleagues knew that a motorcycle had fallen into the ditch," the officer asserted.
This meant the sub-contractor knew about the incident before the police came to know about, as per the officer.
“But they did not inform anyone. At 8.30 am, we came to know about the incident,” he said.
In between, Prajapati allegedly reached the spot within 15-20 minutes of getting the call from the site worker. “However, Prajapati neither informed the police nor any emergency authority at that time,” the DCP claimed.
As for the CCTV camera footage, the DCP said, “It is being analysed. At night, CCTV footage is blurred, but we will analyse it.”
Prajapati, who is a B.Com graduate, has been arrested, and teams have been sent to trace Yogesh, who is believed to be a resident of Uttar Pradesh, police said.
What happened during the night?
Kamal Dhyani, a resident of Kailashpuri and an employee of a private bank, was returning home when he fell into the nearly 15-foot-deep pit dug for a sewer pipeline rehabilitation project of the Delhi Jal Board.
Police said the victim's family initially searched for him at several hospitals but found no record of any accident case.
Based on mobile phone location details, the family and police personnel later searched the Janakpuri area for several hours before the site was located. The family has said they were made to wait, and given no concrete details, as cops said a missing person report will be lodged only after 24 hours. Police have denied any laxity.
An FIR has been registered at the Janakpuri police station under section 105 (culpable homicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the contractor Prajapti and some DJB officials concerned. Three DJB engineers were suspended on Friday night in connection with the case.
Police said that the post-mortem report will come on Sunday.
