New Delhi: Three men died allegedly after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning a sewer pipe in southeast Delhi's Lajpat Nagar on Sunday.
It is being alleged that they died after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning the pipe.
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB), however, denied that the cleaners were hired by them for the job.
"They were not our staff. However, we have ordered a probe to find out how these men entered the sewer without authorisation," a DJB official said.
According to police, around 11.30 am, one of the three men entered the sewers to clean it. When he did not come out, a second worker went inside to check on him.
Later, the third man also went in to check on the other two, but he did not come out either. Then the contractor, who was assigned the cleaning job, sent a fourth man in the sewer with a rope.
This time, the fourth man was pulled out when he started crying for help after feeling suffocated.
The three men were later brought out of the sewers by the police and rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre where the doctors declared them "brought dead".
Police said the three died after inhaling toxic fumes inside the sewer pipe. Two of the deceased were identified as Joginder (32) and Annu (28), while the identity of the third victim is yet to be ascertained, police said.
The fourth worker, Rajesh, had also inhaled the fumes and had to be admitted in a hospital where his condition is stated to be critical.
Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari slammed the Arvind Kejriwal government over the deaths and asked Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal for a probe into the incident.
"I request the LG for a probe into the matter and compensation for the families of the victims," he said.
"This is not the first such death of safai karamcharis (sanitation workers) during sewer cleaning and the attitude of Delhi Jal Board officials as well as the Kejriwal government continues to be callous," Tiwari said.
Last month, four sanitation workers died due to asphyxiation when they entered a septic tank to clean it in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj. Two persons were arrested in connection with the deaths.
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