2 arrested in Delhi restaurant sewage deaths

Two senior managers of a restaurant in Delhi were arrested in connection with the death of two employees while cleaning its kitchen treatment plant, police said Sunday.

The incident occurred on Saturday at the Pirates of Grill in west Delhi's Rajouri Garden. Housekeeping employees Rakesh (45) and Ajay (19) died due to asphyxiation, while two of their colleagues were hospitalised, the police had said.

The owners of the restaurant were also questioned and they are going through the documents to ascertain their role, an officer said.

Area manager Pankaj Kumar and unit manager Aftab have been arrested, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Monika Bhardwaj said.

A case was registered under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and various sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Bhardwaj said.

Investigations revealed that the accused were the supervisory officers of the staff and were responsible for their safety and security, an officer said.

None of the four workers who went to the basement to clean its kitchen treatment plant were provided any safety gears. Being the supervisory staff, it was the responsibility of the duo to provide safety gears before allowing them to clean the treatment plant, the officer said.

The post-mortem of the bodies are yet to be conducted and the family members of the victims have sought a compensation. Further investigation is underway, the police said.