A fresh case of possible civic apathy came to light in Delhi on Friday when a motorcyclist fell with his bike in a deep pit and lost his life. The incident took place in the Janakpuri area of West Delhi, where the pit was dug up by the Delhi Jal Board for a pipeline rehabilitation project.
The Delhi Police said it received a call between 7 am and 8 am regarding the accident, and police personnel were promptly dispatched to the spot.
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A senior police officer was reported as saying that the pit was dug up by the Delhi Jal Board, but it was properly barricaded. He added that the police are investigating the matter and trying to ascertain the exact sequence of events.
What the Delhi Police said
DCP West, Sharad Bhaskar, said the deceased has been identified as Kamal Dhyani, 25.
“A pit was dug for some work of the Delhi Jal Board. Last night, 25-year-old Kamal Dhyani’s bike fell into this pit, and he unfortunately died. We will investigate all stakeholders of this DJB work.”
Bhaskar said the brother of the deceased had approached the Janakpuri police station at around 2.45 am and informed them about his missing brother. The police checked the location of Kamal’s mobile phone and found it to be near the Janakpuri District Park.
“A Head Constable searched for the deceased with the family members for about 2.5 hours, but they couldn’t find him. At 8 am today, a woman called the police and informed them that a body was lying in a 15-foot deep pit. This is when everything came to light,” Bhaskar said, adding that they will look into the claims of the family that they did not receive timely help from the police.
“As of now, we know that the family visited PS Janakpuri, but if the family says they did not receive help from 6-7 police stations, we will look into it. FIR is being registered,” the DCP told the media.
DJB denies negligence
The Delhi Jal Board issued a statement and denied any negligence on its part. It further claimed that the area where work was underway had been barricaded and covered with green mesh. The DJB added that it has formed a committee to look into the incident and assured strict action if it was found that there was any negligence at the construction site.
“The Delhi Jal Board expresses deep sorrow over the tragic accident that occurred during the Pipeline Rehabilitation Project (Pipeline Rehabilitation Site) of DJB in Janakpuri and extends its condolences to the bereaved family. A committee has been constituted to investigate the incident, and strict action will be taken if negligence is found at any level. Regular inspections of safety arrangements at all workplaces are ongoing. Citizens are requested to report any unsafe workplace on the toll-free number 1916,” it posted on X.
The Delhi government has also taken cognisance of the incident and said the Delhi Urban Development Minister will inspect the site tomorrow. Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Verma, meanwhile, said a committee has been formed for inquiry, comprising director-level officers. “The committee will submit its report within 24 hours. We have suspended three Delhi Jal Board officers – the JE, Executive Engineer, and AE. The strictest possible action will also be taken against the company carrying out the work here,” Verma said.

What Kamal Dhyani’s family has alleged
Meanwhile, the family of the deceased has alleged that Kamal may not have died in the accident but may have been killed.
Kamal’s brother told the media, “When I last talked to him, he said he would reach home in 10 minutes. When I called him again at 12:30 am, he didn’t pick up. We got worried. We started looking for him. I first went to his office in Rohini and then to the Janakpuri police station. The police gave us his last location in this area. We kept looking for him but couldn’t find him. This is gross carelessness. My brother was not crazy that he would deliberately crash into the pit. At 1:30 am, I checked this pit but he was not here at that time. We visited at least 6 police stations but did not receive any help. In the morning, when I again called my brother’s phone number, the police picked up the call and informed us that his body has been recovered from the pit. Had the police got into action on time, my brother would have been alive.”
Kamal’s friend also claimed that when they checked the pit around 1 am, he was not there.
“We were on this road all the time, but we don’t understand how he ended up here after we checked. We suspect he was killed. Police have been deployed, and barricades have been set up around the pit now. Why couldn’t they do it earlier? My friend could have been saved,” the friend said, as per the ANI news agency.
The Janakpuri incident has come just weeks after a 27-year-old software engineer, Yuvraj Mehta, lost his life when he drowned after his car fell into a waterlogged pit near a construction site in Noida Sector 150 on the intervening night of January 16 and 17.