4 asphyxiated while cleaning septic tank: 2 held for 'negligence'

Two men were today arrested for "negligence" which led to the death of four sanitation workers due to asphyxiation while cleaning a septic tank in an under- construction building at south Delhi's Ghitorni, the police said.
The incident took place yesterday.
Those arrested were Niranjan Singh (42), who is a supervisor of the building, and Ridhipal (47), said a police officer.
He added that the supervisor had called Swarn Singh, one of the deceased, for cleaning the septic tank on the instructions of the building owner.
He had not ensured the safety of the workers and asked them to enter the septic tank without wearing protective gear, the officer said, adding that the other accused, Ridhipal, who was present at the spot, also did nothing to ensure their safety.

Both the men have been remanded to judicial custody.

Five sanitation workers had gone inside the tank but did not come out for long.
They were later pulled out in an unconscious state by fire department personnel.
It is suspected that they inhaled toxic gases in the tank.
Three of them were taken to a private hospital, while the other two were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre and Safdarjung Hospital respectively.
Four of them -- Swarn Singh (45), Dipu (28), Anil (23) and Balwinder (32) -- were declared "brought dead" by the doctors.
Jaspal (22), Swarn Singh's son, was discharged from the private hospital after treatment.