NHRC notice to govt, police chief over death of 4 men

new delhi: The NHRC on Wednesday issued a notice to the Delhi government and the city's police chief over death of four men after they got trapped inside a sewer in northwest Delhi's Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar area in Rohini.

Issuing the notice, the commission expressed concern that despite there being laws, Supreme Court judgments and its own interventions to provide safety equipment to such workers, "poor people are dying while working in sewer lines, which is completely unwarranted".

The NHRC in a statement said it "has taken suo-motu cognisance of media reports that four persons died in a sewage line in Rohini area of Delhi".

"Reportedly, they were trapped on March 29, 2022, and efforts were on to pull them out safe. However, today morning only their dead bodies could be recovered. The victims included three line workers of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and the fourth, an auto-rickshaw driver, who had gone inside the sewage line to rescue them," it said.

The commission has issued notices to the Delhi chief secretary, commissioner of Police, and the chairman of the MTNL, seeking a detailed report "within four weeks", including action against the responsible officers and relief or rehabilitation provided to the next of kin of the deceased.

According to media reports, the workers were contractual staff of MTNL and were carrying out line work when they fell into the sewer line at Main Bawana Road. They were not wearing any protective gear, it said.