NEW DELHI: A 40-year-old worker at a plywood factory was killed when a prank went horribly wrong on Thursday. A colleague had playfully inserted a pipe from an air compressor into Ravinder’s anus when he bent down to pick up a block of wood at a factory in Nangloi , but police later said that the jet of air damaged the man’s internal organs leading to severe haemorrhage and eventual death . The unfortunate prankster was arrested on Friday.

A case of causing death due to negligence has been registered against Anjan Misra, the accused, said M N Tiwari, DCP (Outer). According to the cops, the factory workers told them that Ravinder had been facing the mocking of fellow workers for wearing a torn trouser on Thursday. The accused was among those having fun at Ravinder’s expense.

The factory workers narrated that around 4 pm, Misra, who was in charge of slicing wooden blocks using the air jet , suddenly shoved the nozzle of the pipe into the torn trousers and pressed it into Ravinder’s anus. There was great laughter at Ravinder’s shocked reaction to the sudden jet of air entering his body, but he soon staggered and fell face down on the ground. “We alerted the manager and took Ravinder to the local dispensary and then to a government hospital where he died during treatment later in the day,” said Ram Kishan, one of the factory workers.

Misra was held by the others and handed to the police when a team arrived after the incident was reported to them. The workers said that Ravinder was a resident of Arrah in Bihar and had been staying in Delhi for the past four years. Incidentally, he had been instrumental in Misra being hired at the factory after referring the man to their labour contractor two years ago because he belonged to the same village.

The workers also admitted that they often played pranks on Ravinder because he frequently wore tattered clothes while at work. Police are probing whether some other workers too were involved in the unintended death of Ravinder. Footage from some CCTV cameras is being scanned.

