Delhi man dies after falling into 40-foot borewell

In a tragedy that has set the ball of suspected foul play rolling in the Indian capital, a person previously thought to be a child died after falling into a 40-foot-deep borewell inside a water plant near Keshopur Mandi on the western side of Delhi on Sunday (March 10). The development was confirmed by Delhi Minister Atishi.

"It is with great sadness that I share the news that the man who fell into the borewell hasbeen found dead by the rescue team. May God give him a place at his feet. According to the first information, the deceased was a male aged around 30 years. How heentered the borewell room, how hefell inside the borewell – this will be investigated by the police," Atishi wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Teams from the Delhi Fire Services, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and Delhi Police were rushed to the spot at the Delhi Jal Board plant.

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The officials were digging a new borewell parallel to the one in which the person had fallen. The NDRFleadthe rescue operation and a machine was brought to the scene for digging.

Delhi borewell tragedy: When did the incident take place?

The incident reportedly occurred on the intervening night between March 9 and March 10, according to Vikaspuri police station.

The man whofellinto the borewell has not been identified as yet.

As the rescue operation went on, Ravinder Singh, Station Officer, Rani Jhansi Road, told reporters that "…The person could not have fallen into the borewell on his own…"

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Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party leader and minister in Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's cabinet Atishi arrived at the site to take stock of the ongoing rescue operation.

"The borewell was in a locked room. Prima facie it seems that an attempt was made to enter by forcefully breaking the lock. Police will investigate it," Atishi wrote on X.

"To ensure that such cases do not come up again, strict orders have been given to the Jal Board that all private and government bore wells lying closed in Delhi should be sealed by welding within 48 hours and a report should be submitted to me," Atishi added.

(With inputs from agencies)