A 35-year-old man died and three others lost consciousness after they entered a sewer to clean it in northwest Delhi's Shakurpur on Saturday, police said, claiming that the work was being carried out by a PWD contractor.
Meanwhile, a government statement claimed that the man had fallen into an open drain and Delhi PWD minister Satyendar Jain ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Still, the minister sought the inquiry report from the PWD engineer-in-chief, and announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the worker's family.
One contractor and one private supervisor were arrested in connection with the incident, the police said.
The deceased was identified as Ashok, a resident of Budh Vihar and the other men were Gore Lal (35), Rohit (30) and Sai (50), all residents of Pooth Kalan, they said.
The police received information about the incident at around 11 am.
They said the four men entered the sewer near a gas agency after they were hired by the PWD contractor to clean it. When they did not come out for some time, the police were informed.
The men were taken out from the sewer by police personnel and firefighters and were rushed for treatment to Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital in Pitampura, the police said.
"All four labourers were rushed to the Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital where Ashok was declared brought dead. The condition of the rest is stable," a senior police officer said.
The Delhi Fire Services said they received information about the incident at 11.20 am. Two fire tender were rushed to the spot and the rescue operation was initiated, a senior fire official said.
According to police, there were four victims, however, the fire department claimed that they pulled out five people from the sewer of which one was declared brought dead.
"A case under sections 304 (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code and 7/9 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act has been registered at Subhash Place police station on Lal's statement," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Vijayanta Arya.
Raj Kumar (27), a resident of Barwala, and Babloo (45), a resident of Pooth Kalan, have been arrested, the police said.
The government statement said the PWD minister has asked for the inquiry report to be submitted to him as soon as possible and an SDM inquiry has also been initiated.
The minister has ordered a probe into who called the PWD maintenance van, the nature of complaint, how the worker fell in the open drain and other related aspects, it saod.
The minister also went to the hospital to inquire about the well-being of the hospitalised workers and issued directions for the best treatment for the workers.
The doctors said two workers had been discharged after examination, the statement said.
According to locals, the men were working at the spot for two days.
"I was near the spot when I heard someone shouting for help. When I reached there, I saw some people were stuck inside the sewer due to toxic gases. People in the area called the police and they also tried to pull them out," said Suraj, a 31-year-old eyewitness.
Another witness alleged that the sewer was closed from past many months and the men weren't wearing any safety gear during the cleaning process.
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