NEW DELHI: Cleaning of septic tanks proved to be a hazardous activity once again in the city, with contractors and their clients preferring to save cost on protective gear than human lives. The horror repeated itself on Friday when three people were killed after they allegedly inhaled poisonous gas inside a septic tank at a factory in Mundka, officials said.
Three people entered the septic tank one by one and all of them succumbed to poisonous gas inhalation. The Delhi Fire Services tenders, which were rushed to rescue them around 12:03 pm, could only recover their bodies, which were shifted to the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital for postmortem.
The victims’ families said that one of them had got trapped inside and others went in to save him. The deceased have been identified as Arun, 38, Sandeep, 32, and Chand, 42, all residents of Sultanpuri.
The story of cheap lives of workers, their careless contractor and a well-to-do client looked familiar. The police officials said that Marwah Printers hired Neeraj to clean a septic tank situated inside the factory premises in Mundka Industrial Area. Neeraj, in turn, engaged the deceased to complete the job.
The police filed a case under Section 106/3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Section 9 of the Prohibition of Manual Scavenging Act and Section 3(1)(j) of the SC/ST Act, the invocation of the third act suggesting the unfortunate reality of caste divide in work conditions in the country.
The police have arrested Marwah Printers owner Suraj Marwah, 50, a resident of Mansarovar Garden, Jayant, 61, a resident of Baprola Vihar, and contractor Neeraj, 35, a resident of Nangloi.
The victims’ families alleged that if the company owner had provided proper safety equipment, the three men would have survived. Arun’s brother Narendra said that it was probably Chand who had got trapped in the tank.
Tragedy continues
In May, a worker had died cleaning a septic tank in New Ashok Nagar. In July 2025, a contractor and a labourer died after they fell into a septic tank at an under construction house in Qutub Vihar Phase II. In May 2024, 2 workers died cleaning a septic tank in Jasola village