NEW DELHI: Government on Friday suspended three engineers from Delhi Jal Board after a 25-year-old motorcyclist died by falling into a construction pit dug by the water agency in Janakpuri area.According to the police the deceased was identified as Kamal Dhyani, who was returning home from his home on his motorcycle. Here are the top developments‘We visited at least 6 police stations’Dhyani’s family said that it did not receive any help from the Delhi Police and accused it of “gross carelessness.” Dhyani’s brother said that he visited six police station but received information about Kamal’s death only after calling him on his phone in the morning, which was received by an official to extend the news of his death.“When I last talked to him, he said he would reach home in 10 minutes. When I called him again at 12:30 am, he didn’t pick up. We got worried. We started looking for him. I first went to his office in Rohini, then to the Janakpuri police station. The police gave us his last location in this area. We kept looking for him but couldn’t find him. This is gross carelessness,” he said.“My brother was not crazy that he would deliberately crash into the pit… At 1:30 am, I checked this pit, but he was not there at that time. We visited at least 6 police stations but did not receive any help… In the morning, when I again called my brother’s phone number, the police picked up the call and informed us that his body had been recovered from the pit… Had the police got into action on time, my brother would have been alive,” he added.‘7 people were searching for him from midnight’Kamal’s friend also claimed the police him to wait till 11 am to file a complaint. He added that officials agreed to track the phone but did not share the exact location.After receiving no help from the police, a group of seven people tried to find the victim but failed.“I had talked to him last night when he had reached the District Centre. He was just 15 minutes from home. We waited for an hour, but he didn’t come. An hour later, we came to the District Centre. He had been in accidents twice before, so we thought something like that might have happened. He wasn’t picking up our calls. His bike was nowhere to be seen,” Dhyani’s friend said.“When we went to the police station to file a complaint, we were told that our complaint would not be registered before 11 am. Upon request, the police helped us find the location of my friend and asked us to look for him in a 200-metre radius here. 7 people were searching for him from midnight to 7 am, but we could not find him. At 1 am, when we checked the pit, he was not there. We were on this road all the time, but we don’t understand how he ended up here after we checked,” he added.“When we went back home at 7 am, we received a call from my friend’s phone, and the police informed us that he was in the pit. Why could his phone not be traced by the police at night? We suspect he was killed… What must his parents be going through… We still haven’t informed his mother… He was 25 years old and worked at the HDFC Bank call centre in Rohini Sector 10… Police have been deployed, and barricades have been set up around the pit now. Why couldn’t they do it earlier? My friend could have been saved,” he further said.‘We will look into it’Meanwhile, Delhi Police claimed that it tracked Kamal’s phone as soon as his his brother Janakpuri Police Station around 2:45 am. It also claimed that a constable also searched for the deceased with the family members for about 2.5 hours.Deputy comissioner of Police, west Sharad Bhaskar assured that if help was not provided to the family and friends searching for the deceased, the matter would be looked into.“A pit was dug for some work of the Delhi Jal Board. Last night, 25-year-old Kamal Dhyani’s bike fell into this pit, and he unfortunately died. We will investigate all stakeholders of this DJB work. The deceased’s brother came to Janakpuri Police Station around 2:45 am, and he informed that his brother had not reached home yet. The police tracked his mobile phone, which was indicating Janakpuri District Park. Head Constable Ramkesh searched for the deceased with the family members for about 2.5 hours, but they couldn’t find him,” Bhaskar said.“At 8 am today, a woman called the police and informed them that a body was lying in a 15-foot deep pit. This is when everything came to light… As of now, we know that the family visited PS Janakpuri, but if the family says they did not receive help from 6-7 police stations, we will look into it… FIR is being registered,” he added.Minister vows strict actionDelhi urban development minister Ashish Sood expressed grief over the incident and stressed that anyone from the Jal Board found responsible for overlooking the safety protocols will not be spared.“I received news of this unfortunate accident around 8:30-9 am, and I have been here since then… Delhi Jal Board work was in progress here, and I have instructed the Jal Board to investigate the safety protocols. If anyone is found responsible, they will not be spared,” Ashish Sood said.“The Jal Board had conducted an audit of all safety protocols and issued circulars… The police are looking into the cause of the accident… Any official from the Jal Board found responsible for jeopardising the safety measures will not be spared…” he added.Delhi Jal Board sets up committeeThe Delhi Jal Board has set up a committee to probe which will submit a report on the incident by the same evening.In a post on X, Water minister Pravesh Verma said, “DJB has constituted a high-level inquiry committee to ensure a transparent investigation into the incident. The committee has been directed to inspect the accident site immediately and review safety arrangements, barricading, signage and traffic management.”The water minister who inspected the construction site after the incident was reported on Friday ordered the suspension of the DJB officers.“We are suspending three officers-executive engineer, assistant engineer and junior engineer, it was the duty of the three officers to monitor the progress of the work ongoing here,” Singh told reporters.Work at the site has been ongoing for the last three months but the pit was dug on Thursday, he said.‘This is not an accident, but murder’Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvid Kejriwal slammed BJP-led Delhi government over the incident and alleged that Kamal’s death was not an accident but a “murder”.In a post on X, the former Delhi chief minister alleged that the BJP learnt nothing from the incident in Noida where a young software engineer died after drowning in a waterlogged plot last month.“This is not an accident, but murder. The BJP has learned nothing even from the Noida incident. Gross negligence and a non-responsible attitude have now become the hallmark of BJP governments, and the common people are paying the price for it,” he added.“May God give strength to that family who lost their child due to the government’s negligence,” he added.
