An unidentified man died after he fell into a 40-foot-deep borewell at a Delhi Jal Board treatment plant late last night. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which was leading the rescue efforts in Keshopur Mandi area, has recovered his body from the borewell.
Delhi Water Minister Atishi, who visited the treatment plant this morning, confirmed the death of a "30-year-old man" in the borewell and said, "How he entered the borewell room and how he fell inside will be investigated by the police".
Sources said the cops were alerted last night that a man had fallen into the borewell while fleeing after a theft. It is during this time they began a rescue operation with the help of fire officials. The authorities had called in an excavator to dig another borewell parallelly though the life detector didn't detect any signal, the sources added.
The incident triggered a political blame game with Kamaljit Sehrawat, BJP candidate from West Delhi for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, accusing Delhi Jal Board of negligence. "If there was barricading, the child would not have fallen. Atishi will come out and give false consolation. Norms should be strictly followed," said Ms Sehrawat.
The AAP government earlier hinted at foul play with Atishi saying the borewell was inside a locked room. She also clarified it wasn't a child (as was being reported earlier), but an adult who fell inside the borewell.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal shared Atishi's post and said, "Water Minister Atishi took stock of the situation. It was revealed that the borewell was inside a room locked with a lock and key. Delhi Police is investigating the entire incident. DJB has also been ordered to investigate."
He said strict action will be taken against the responsible officer and all abandoned government and private borewells will be sealed within 48 hours.
Sources in the police, however, ruled out any forceful entry and said the person likely entered the room through a broken wall.
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