Kejriwal govt blamed as man dies after falling into borewell in Delhi

New Delhi: The body of a man who fell into a 40-foot-deep borewell at a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) sewage treatment plant here was pulled out after a nearly 14-hour-long operation carried out by teams of NDRF and Delhi Fire Services, police said. 

The victim is yet to be identified, they said. 

Information about the man falling into the borewell at the DJB plant in west Delhi's Keshopur Mandi area was received around 1 am. The rescue efforts were led by teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), police said, adding the NDRF team arrived at 4 am.

Sources said the borewell was abandoned.

Chief Miinister Arvind Kejriwal shared the news of the man's death in a post on X and thanked the NDRF for its operation.

"Got the sad news that the man who fell into the borewell was found dead. May his soul rest in peace. I would like to thank NDRF whose team made every possible effort during the 14-hour-long operation. The NDRF has supported the people of Delhi in all difficult times," he said on X.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal said the DJB has been instructed to carry out a probe into the incident and warned of strict action against officers found responsible for it. He also said that all abandoned borewells, government and private, would be sealed within 48 hours.

A senior police officer said the borewell pipe was 12 inches in diameter and 40-foot-deep. "So we informed the Delhi Fire Services," the officer said, adding police received a call by a security guard at the site.

The guard told police that somebody entered the site and fell into the borewell.  According to the sources, the call to police said that a "thief had fallen into the borewell''.

Police sources suspect him to be a vagabond but they have also not ruled out the possibility of him entering site with the intentions of stealing something.  A team of NDRF comprising 40 members reached the site at 4 am, they said.  "NDRF decided to dig a parallel borewell. Some NDRF personnel started digging while others were trying to rescue the trapped man from the borewell," another police officer said.

The officer further said that the team decided to dig a parallel borewell within a distance of nine-foot away.

"They inserted many devices inside to see if the person needed something. One more device having different rods and a ring was connected to ropes and the man was pulled out. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital," said the police officer.

As word spread about a "child" falling into the borewell, families with a missing child thronged the spot hoping that the one trapped inside could be their own. Rescuers, after hours of efforts, conjectured the person inside could be aged 18-20 years. The news brought even more families to the spot, this time those that had someone in the similar age group missing from their homes.

Later, the rescuers said that the person who had fallen inside was a fully grown man aged around 30. The development led to some more families visiting the DJB plant in search of their missing family members.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Water Minister Atishi visited the spot to take stock of the situation while the BJP targeted the AAP dispensation over the incident calling it "shameful".

She also directed the chief secretary to conduct a time-bound enquiry into the incident and take strong and exemplary action against any officers found responsible.

Police said they also deployed two earthmover (JCB) machines to dig a hole.

"Such operations take several hours. But with the NDRF help, it took less than 12 hours," the police officer said.

Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg said a team of fire brigade was asked to stay on stand-by for any kind of help.

Meanwhile, Atishi directed to ensure that all government and private abandoned borewells are sealed immediately.

"He was extracted from the borewell. Unfortunately, he is dead. It is a male, appearing to be in the age group between 25-35. Efforts are being made to identify him," said the police officer. 

According to government officials, the borewell was not in an open area, but inside a locked room. 

"So whoever entered the borewell room would have broken the lock and door and then entered," a government official said. 

The official said there is a possibility of foul play since it is not easy for an adult to fall inside a borewell of 12-inch diameter. "So the victim might have been pushed in." Later, in a post on X, Atishi shared the news about the death of the man.   

"How he entered the borewell room, how he fell inside the borewell, this will be investigated by the police. I thank the NDRF team who made every possible effort in the rescue operation for many hours," she said.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said, "The death of a person after falling into a borewell located on the premises of Delhi Jal Board is painful. The Kejriwal government should give compensation for the accidents caused by the DJB's negligence in Keshopur and Alipur."

"Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi tweeting that the borewell room is safe is a disgusting conspiracy to save their government and DJB officials. The Kejriwal government continuously suppresses not only the scams of DJB but also the accidents because it is an equal partner in the misdeeds happening at board," he alleged.

The BJP's West Delhi Lok Sabha candidate Kamaljeet Sehrawat also visited the spot.

"This is a very shameful incident. It happened due to the negligence of DJB officials. The borewell was not covered," Sehrawat said.