Subcontractor arrested for failing to report fall

New Delhi: DelhiPolice has arrested a subcontractor for allegedly failing to alert the authorities regarding a biker falling into a pit dug by the Delhi Jal Board in Janakpuri, an official said on Saturday. Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Darade Sharad Bhaskar said that, as per the investigation, Rajesh Kumar Prajapati (47) knew that someone had fallen into the pit, hours before the matter came to the police’s notice. According to police, an eyewitness, Vipin Singh, who was returning home to Sagarpur after attending a wedding, saw that a motorcycle had fallen into the ditch and informed a security guard at a nearby garage.

“The guard then alerted a labourer, identified as Yogesh, who looked into the ditch and noticed that the motorcycle’s headlight was on and a human figure was visible inside,” the officer said. Call detail records showed that Yogesh informed Prajapati about the incident at around 12:22 am, following which the subcontractor reached the spot within 15-20 minutes, police said.

However, Prajapati neither informed the police nor any emergency authority at that time. Information about the incident reached police only the next morning at around 8 am, Bhaskar said.

Prajapati, who is a B.Com graduate and lives in Tri Nagar, has been arrested, and teams have been sent to trace Yogesh, who is believed to be a resident of Uttar Pradesh, police said. CCTV footage from the area is being analysed to establish the exact sequence of events, they said.

Kamal Dhyani, a resident of Kailashpuri and an employee of a private bank, was returning home when he fell into the nearly 15-foot-deep pit dug for a sewer pipeline rehabilitation project by the Delhi Jal Board.

Police said the victim’s family initially searched for him at several hospitals but found no record of any accident case. Based on mobile phone location details, the family and police personnel later searched the Janakpuri area for several hours before the site was located. Police said all aspects of the case are being investigated, and strict legal action will be taken against those found guilty.