Delhi Police files FIR in borewell death case, probe underway

New Delhi [India], March 11 (ANI): Delhi Police on Monday filed an FIR into the death of a man, who fell into a borewell at a sewage treatment plant of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in the Keshopur area of the national capital.

A case was registered under IPC Section 304 (A) at Vikaspuri police station, an officer said, adding that further investigation is underway.

Earlier, on Sunday, the BJP’s Delhi president Virendraa Sachdeva lashed out at the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in the national capital over the incident, blaming them for ‘carelessness’.

“The careless approach of this government is to blame for such incidents. The person, who died after falling into a borewell today, could have been saved if the facility had been properly maintained. However, all that Kejriwal has done over the last 9 years is to loot public money. The incident also brings to the fore the careless and negligent attitude of the Delhi government,” Sachdeva told ANI on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Water Minister Atishi directed Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to seal all borewells in the city within 48 hours in light of the incident.

In her letter to the chief secretary, Atishi also directed him to conduct a time-bound inquiry into the incident and take “strong and exemplary action” against any officers found responsible.

“A deeply unfortunate incident has taken place in Delhi today (Sunday), where someone has fallen into an abandoned borewell in the Keshopur Sewerage Treatment Plant. While this borewell was on land that had been handed over to Delhi Metro in 2020, nonetheless it is our responsibility to examine if any lapses have taken place on the part of the Delhi Jal Board, and to ensure that no such incident takes place in Delhi in the future,” Atishi stated in her letter to the chief secretary.

“Directions have been given to Chief Secretary regarding the borewell incident in Keshopur STP: 1. Enquiry to be conducted in case of any lapse on part of DJB and strongest possible action to be taken 2. Welding and sealing of all abandoned borewells across Delhi in 48 hours,” Atishi posted from her X handle.

The Delhi Police said earlier that the victim’s body was recovered around 3 pm on Sunday and efforts were underway to identify him.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also posted from his X handle that the DJB was in the process of carrying out a thorough probe to check for any lapses or foul play behind the incident.

According to an official, the circumstances surrounding the person’s fall into the borewell remain unclear.

He said a more accurate account of the incident could be given only after a thorough investigation.

Teams from the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and Delhi Police were involved in the rescue operation after receiving word of the incident. (ANI)