NEW DELHI: A 40-year-old sanitation worker died, and three others are battling for their lives in the ICU after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning a sewer in northwest Delhi’s Ashok Vihar Phase-II on Tuesday night.According to police, information about four persons falling inside a sewer was received via a PCR call at the Ashok Vihar police station at 11.30pm. The deceased was identified as Arvind, a resident of Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh.“Arvind, along with three others, Sonu and Narayana, also from Kasganj, and Naresh from Bihar, entered a sewer as part of ongoing cleaning work when they fell unconscious, allegedly due to toxic gases,” a senior police officer said.Arvind was rushed to DDU Hospital, where he was declared brought dead. The other three remain in critical condition in the ICU, as they were brought to the hospital in an unconscious condition.Upon receiving a PCR call about the incident, Delhi Police and emergency teams responded to the scene. A crime team subsequently conducted a forensic inspection of the site.“Preliminary inquiries revealed that the sewer cleaning work was underway for several days, carried out under the supervision of Brijgopal Construction Company. The company’s manager has been summoned for questioning,” the senior police officer added.In response to the incident, a case has been registered under Sections 106(1) (death due to negligence), 289 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery), along with Sections 7 and 9 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.Manual scavenging is illegal in India under the 2013 Act, which prohibits hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks without proper safety gear and mechanisms. If proven, the use of manual scavenging in this case could lead to serious legal consequences for those responsible.Further investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the incident and whether there were violations of safety norms and legal provisions.
