NEW DELHI: Two labourers died after falling unconscious while carrying out maintenance work on the carbon filter of the sewage treatment plant (STP) at Action Balaji Hospital in west Delhi’s Paschim Vihar, police said on Wednesday.
The Paschim Vihar East police station received information from the hospital regarding two medico-legal cases on Tuesday. Upon reaching the spot, officers found that the two labourers, Brijesh (26) and Vikram (30), both residents of Uttar Pradesh, had been declared “brought dead.”
The maintenance work was reportedly being carried out by a contractor under the annual maintenance contract, the police said. The men reportedly lost consciousness while inside the tank. “Crime and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) teams visited the site for a detailed inspection and collected evidence. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination,” a senior police officer said.
“A case under relevant sections has been registered and further investigation is underway,” the officer added. Shatrughan Gautam, a co-worker and an eye-witness, said that initially four workers were engaged in the task and the number rose to five by the afternoon.
“We were told that the tank, which contained chemicals, needed to be emptied before new chemicals were added. Brijesh went inside and emptied the tank. Later, six bags of chemical were added and Brijesh was asked to go in again. He refused at first but was persuaded by the supervisor,” Gautam alleged.
“He fainted inside. When we rushed to check, none of the supervisors went in. They asked us to go instead. Another person (Vikram), who was also working there, also fell unconscious when he went inside to save Birjesh,” he added.
Both victims were married and had recently joined work. They were sole breadwinners of their family. Following the incident, several labourers staged a protest outside the hospital demanding compensation and a thorough investigation into the deaths.