Man falls in open manhole in Rohini, body found nearly 24 hours later
The DDA did not respond to queries on the matter.
Police said further investigation is underway to establish the exact sequence of events and to determine who was responsible for the upkeep of the manhole.
A 32-year-old daily wage labourer died after he allegedly fell into an open manhole on a vacant Delhi Development Authority (DDA) plot in Rohini’s Begumpur on Monday, police said on Tuesday.
A PCR call was received at 2.36 pm at Begumpur police station on Tuesday, reporting a missing person, suspected to have fallen into a sewer in Rohini’s Sector 32.
The deceased was identified as Birju Kumar Rai, hailing from Samastipur district in Bihar.
Police said Birju was accompanied by his friend, Budhan Das alias Suraj (33), a resident of Madhubani district in Bihar, when he fell in the manhole. Both men stayed in a nearby jhuggi cluster.
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“Amir Hussain, who made the PCR call, said that his friends Budhan Das and Birju Kumar Rai, both labourers, had consumed alcohol last night (Monday). Around 7.30 pm, Birju fell into the manhole while they were returning to their jhuggi,” said DCP (Rohini) Rajeev Ranjan.
“(During questioning), Budhan Das said that he did not inform anyone at night, as he was intoxicated and informed Amir Hussain as soon as he regained his senses on Tuesday afternoon,” he added.
Following the PCR call, teams from Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Service, and DDA were mobilised. Fire brigade personnel retrieved the body from the manhole around 5.45 pm, said officials.
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Birju was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead, police said, adding that medico-legal formalities are being completed.
Police said further investigation is underway to establish the exact sequence of events and to determine who was responsible for the upkeep of the manhole. “We are also examining whether safety norms were violated and if any negligence contributed to the fatality,” said an officer.
The DDA did not respond to queries on the matter.
Police said further investigation is underway to establish the exact sequence of events and to determine who was responsible for the upkeep of the manhole. 
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