NEW DELHI: A 23-year-old Delhi Jal Board pump operator allegedly suffocated to death after getting stuck inside a pipe while working at a sewage treatment plant in west Delhi’s Keshavpur on Wednesday. The victim, Vinay Sirohi, a resident of Uttam Nagar, was employed as a contract worker with DJB. Sirohi is survived by his wife, a younger brother and mother. According to police, the incident took place around 11.30am on the Diwali day when Sirohi got into a tank to plug a leakage. His body was pulled out of the pipe (1ft diameter) by DJB staff after which the matter was reported to police. The postmortem report is still awaited, which can throw light on the exact cause of his death. DJB workers’ union, however, has alleged that negligence on the part of contractor led to the youth’s death. “It has come to our knowledge that he jumped inside the tank, along with a sack in order to fix a leakage. There he could have slipped into a pipe that was attached to the tank. Prima facie he seemed to have died of suffocation. The body has been sent for a postmortem,” said Pushpendra Kumar, DCP west. DJB chairman Kapil Miashra has asked the firm (contractor) to immediately pay Rs 2 lakh as compensation and a job to a family member. DJB PRO Sanjam Cheema said Sirohi did not inform his superviser before going to the tank. “Being a pump operator, he should not have gone there alone.” The DCP said that a missing complaint was filed by Sirohi’s family on Wednesday evening after which the entire premise of the DJB plant was searched thoroughly. “Other employees who were aware of Sirohi getting into the tank looked for him inside it. They found him stuck inside a pipe. The pipe had to be cut after which the body was pulled out around 3.30pm today (Thursday). We have registered a case under IPC section 304A (causing death due to negligence),” the officer added. According to his colleagues, Sirohi’s body was completely blackened due to direct exposure to poisonous gases and emission of heat. They also said Sirohi was alone at that time. “He got into the tank but somehow slipped into a pipe that was connected to it. He was not wearing a safety helmet, face mask or even gumboots. Usually 2-3 men go for a job of such nature. It is very risky due to the presence of poisonous gases such as methane and hydrogen sulphide. He must have been suffocated to death,” said a co-worker and DJB workers union leader, Taras Pal Tomar. Cheema said, “I was told that a missing complaint was lodged after Sirohi did not return home yesterday. A departmental inquiry has been ordered into the matter and the report will be out soon. Strict actions will be taken against the guilty.” Vinay Sirohi is survived by his wife, a younger brother and mother. The incident took place around 11.30am on the Diwali day

