Man falls in 40-foot-deep borewell in west Delhi, pulled out dead
A senior police officer said that investigators are also probing whether the man entered the plant to steal parts
A man was found dead at the bottom of an abandoned 40-foot deep borewell inside a locked room at a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) water treatment plant at Keshopur in west Delhi in the early hours of Sunday, police officers aware of the matter said, adding that the body was pulled out after a nearly 14-hour-long operation.
Read here: Man falls into 40-foot-deep borewell in Delhi, dies
Police were yet to identify the identity of the man, who they assume was aged between 25 or 30. It was also not immediately clear why or how he entered the water treatment plant or the locked room, officers said, adding that the sequence of events leading to the man being discovered in the borewell will be ascertained once his identity is established.
A senior police officer said that investigators are also probing whether the man entered the plant to steal parts.
“He may have broken into the room to steal something and then accidentally fell in. But he may also have been pushed inside by someone,” the officer said, on condition of anonymity.
A Delhi government official said the borewell is inside a locked room. “So, whoever entered the room would have had to break the lock. There is also a possibility of foul play, because it’s not easy for an adult to fall inside a 12-inch wide borewell,” he said.
Deputy commissioner of police (west) Vichitra Veer said that the police control room received a call around 1am about a person falling inside a borewell in Keshopur, following which, police teams were rushed to the spot. “The fire brigade and NDRF teams also arrived, and began rescue operations at around 1.30am,” the DCP said.
According to Veer, the call to the police was made by a DJB field assistant, who was informed that somebody had entered the plant. He went in to investigate and saw the deceased man at the bottom of the borewell.
Delhi Fire Services (DFS) director Atul Garg said that five fire tenders were pressed into service. “The initial information was that a child had fallen into the borewell. It was only later established that it was an older person,” he said.
Another fire official, on condition of anonymity, said that the man was not shouting for help.
“We were not informed whether he was alive or dead but he wasn’t shouting for help. We first tried to pull him out by throwing a rope inside, thinking that the person might hold it and we’ll pull him out, but he didn’t hold it. It was later established that the man was not responding,” the official said.
Subsequently, NDRF personnel arrived at the spot at around 4.30am.
NDRF inspector general Narendra Bundela said, “The team created a loop using an iron sheet and tied it with a smaller rope to fit the hands of the man. They then pushed it down using a white rope, and kept an eye on the progress using live visuals. Eventually, the team was able to loop the rope around the man’s hands and pulled him up.”
At 2.52pm, after the man was pulled out, he was rushed to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.
As word spread of the incident, multiple people living in the neighbourhood reached the spot, fearing that the person trapped may be a member of their family.
Read here: Delhi Jal Board to start drive to seal illegal borewells
Pushpa Devi, aged 75, said the man could be her grandson, who was allegedly missing since Friday. Another woman, who said that she was 65 years old but did not share her name, came with a photograph of her 30-year-old son who she said was missing for the past three months.
The body has been preserved for an autopsy, police said. “All efforts are being made to identify the man,” DCP Veer added.