A day after a biker died after falling into a deep, uncovered pit dug by the Delhi Jal Board in Janakpuri, the government has suspended an executive engineer, assistant and junior engineers while an official inquiry has been ordered into the incident, which brought back haunting memories of the Noida techie's death. Besides, an FIR has also been lodged against the contractor and other involved officials.
This was announced by Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Verma after he visited the accident site on Friday amid public outcry. The victim, Kamal, who worked at a private bank, was on his way back home on his bike Thursday night when he fell into the pit.
"Visited the Janakpuri accident site where sewer line work was underway. The tragedy is deeply regretted, and our thoughts are with the grieving family," Verma wrote in a post on X.
"Executive Engineer , AE and JE have been suspended with immediate effect. Strict action is being taken against the responsible agency. Delhi Jal Board has constituted a high-level Inquiry Committee to fix responsibility," he added.
Verma further informed that the inquiry committee will submit a report on the incident by the same evening.
'Will be home in 10 minutes': Kamal's last call to family
A motorcyclist identified as Kamal died on Friday after allegedly falling into a pit in west Delhi’s Janakpuri area late last night. Photos that went viral on social media showed the man’s body lying at the bottom of the pit next to his Apache RTR 200 motorcycle.
He was wearing a helmet, riding jacket and gloves, according to the images. The biker was identified as Kamal, an assistant manager with HDFC Bank and a resident of Kailashpuri.
Initial reports said Kamal was returning home from his office in Rohini late at night. He had been in regular contact with his family, but when he did not reach home, they went out to search for him.
Despite continuous efforts, Kamal could not be located. At around 7.30 am, the police received a call, bringing the incident to light. When officers reached the spot, they found Kamal inside the pit along with his motorcycle.
Spoke to deceased's friend: Minister Verma
He said he had spoken to the deceased’s friend, who stated that at around 11.45 pm last night, the deceased called home and said he would return within 10 minutes.
"After that, he reached the stretch of road and fell into the pit. The Janakpuri police, along with the family, searched for him for 2 hours last night. Strictest possible action would also be taken against the company working at the site," Verma said.
