Delhi govt orders probe; NHRC, NCSC seek action after 5 die while cleaning septic tank

The Delhi government Monday ordered a probe and the national human rights body sought a report from the Delhi chief secretary and the police commissioner after five people died due to asphyxiation while cleaning a septic tank at DLF Green Apartments in west Delhi's Moti Nagar area.

Labour Minister Gopal Rai asked the labour commissioner to submit a probe report within three days. He announced Rs 10-lakh compensation to the family of each victim.

A National Commission for Scheduled Caste (NCSC) team led by Chairman Ram Shankar Katheria visited the site of incident this evening and asked the Delhi chief secretary and joint commissioner of police to take action against people found guilty of negligence.

"We have given them three days to take action... The principal employer here is the DLF and also the contractor who was hired for the job are responsible for negligence," NCSC Vice Chairman L Murugan told PTI.

Meanwhile, the NHRC issued notices to the Delhi chief secretary and the police commissioner, demanding a detailed report in the matter. It said the right to life of five innocent persons has been violated "due to negligence by the authorities and the contractor concerned".

"We would also like to know about the action taken against the authorities responsible in the matter along with measures taken for relief and rehabilitation of the kin of the deceased persons," the NHRC said in a statement.

The commission said it has been emphasising to the authorities that they should provide safety gear to workers to avoid fatal accidents.

The incident happened on Sunday in DLF Green Apartments in Moti Nagar.

According to police, Sarfaraz, Pankaj, Raja, Umesh and Vishal died after they inhaled toxic gases inside the tank.

A case has been registered, police said, adding that they are probing whose negligence was it that led to the incident.

"Minister of Labour has desired that a fact-finding inquiry is required to be conducted in the incident, so as to decide further course of action against defaulting agencies/firms by the government," Minister Rai's Secretary Vivek Kumar Tripathi said in a written communication to the police commissioner.