Man falls into drain in Mayur Vihar, dies
TRAGIC Police say Anil Gupta may have slipped but PWD claims he was pushed into the drain after a quarrel; family alleges he died due to large intake of dirty water. Cops probing all angles
Out on his regular evening walk, a 55-year-old businessman died after falling in an uncovered drain maintained by the Public Works Department in east Delhi’s Mayur Vihar on Sunday.
Out on his regular evening walk, a 55-year-old businessman died after falling in an uncovered drain maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD) in east Delhi’s Mayur Vihar on Sunday.
Police said initial investigations have suggested that Anil Gupta slipped into an open part of the drain while heading towards a park nearby. PWD officials, however, said their internal probe revealed Gupta was pushed into the drain following a quarrel. Police said they would probe all possibilities.
In any case, local residents alleged this was not the first time someone fell into the 10-feet deep drain. “In the last two-three months alone, a child and a cow fell in the drain. Fortunately, we were able to pull them out on time,” said Raja Kumar, a vendor near the accident spot.
A visit to the spot on Monday revealed that the drain was left open at multiple points through a 100-metre stretch. Despite locals covering the gap at the accident spot with slabs, the other openings remained a threat to visitors.
Gupta lived with his wife in Mayur Vihar phase-3. His daughter lives with her family in Uttar Pradesh while his two sons are settled in the UK and Germany. Gupta owned shops dealing in car accessories and garments.
According to his family, Gupta rarely missed his evening walks. “He preferred the DDA park outside our neighbourhood,” said Deepak, Gupta nephew.
On Sunday, Gupta left home around 4 pm but found the area right outside the park gate waterlogged. “This spot has water round the year. But the rain had made it worse,” said Raja, a local.
The water in the fast-flowing drain had risen in height due to the incessant rain preceding the accident. While no eyewitnesses to the actual accident emerged, locals described what they heard from people who helped the victim after he fell in the drain.
Rajkumar Verma, Gupta’s friend and a staffer at the DDA park near the accident spot, claimed some women passing heard the victim’s cries for help.
“He was nearly drowning but managed to call out for help. The women heard his cries and joined hands with some men to pull him out. Gupta was still alive then and signalled them to take him to a hospital,” Verma said.
Gupta was rushed to a nearby hospital but his family alleged they were denied help. The allegations were echoed by Maheish Girri, East Delhi MP, who visited Gupta’s family on Monday and demanded action against the hospital which refused to admit him.
When Gupta was taken to another hospital in neighbouring Noida, he was declared brought dead. His family believes he died due to a large intake of dirty water. Police said they would await the autopsy report before deciding on what killed Gupta. “There were no external injuries on his body,” said a police officer.
Delhi BJP chief, Manoj Tiwari, meanwhile, urged the local police to book and arrest the “PWD officials whose negligence has resulted in an untimely and irreparable loss for the family”.