Delhi biker death case: Contractor who’d dug pit came, saw and left as victim lay there for hours

NEW DELHI: A day after a 25-year-old biker plunged to his death in a 14-foot-deep pit in Janakpuri, police have arrested the sub-contractor who dug the pit for water works.

As biker Kamal Dhyani lay in the open pit, the sub-contractor came to the site at night after being alerted to the accident by his labourer, looked at the victim, and walked away without calling for rescue. Kamal lay in the pit for more than six hours before police were finally alerted in the morning.


Read also:‘Headlight was still on’: How a pit dug hours before tragedy became death trap for Delhi biker

The accused sub-contractor has been identified as Rajesh Kumar Prajapati, a resident of Tri Nagar, who told cops he did not inform police because he was frightened.


Deputy commissioner of police (west) Darade Sharad Bhaskar said they found an eyewitness named Vipin Singh who had seen a bike fall into the pit. He, along with his family, saw the accident while going home in Sagarpur after attending a wedding in Rohini. He informed a residential complex guard, who then told the contractor's labour Yogesh.

Janakpuri Pit Dug Hours Before Tragedy; No Warning Signs Put

Police are also searching for the labourer who, after being informed about the biker, called up his boss but did not take any action to help the victim.

"When Yogesh saw the victim, the motorcycle's headlight was still on. He then informed his boss Prajapati at 12.22 am that this was confirmed through call records. The subcontractor reached the spot within 15-20 minutes from his home in Tri Nagar," the DCP said.

Police suspect Yogesh has likely fled to his hometown Etawah in Uttar Pradesh. Police have questioned the security guard for sequence of events and also they will question main contractor who hired the sub-contractor.

Police were alerted about the accident around 8.03 am on Friday by a woman who was on her way to drop her son to school.

TOI spoke to the family of the woman who alerted the PCR. They said she was on her way to drop her son at school around 8 am when she noticed the motorcycle in the pit. "My wife first informed a security guard (different from the guard whom Vipin informed), but he paid no attention. As more people gathered, she asked them to alert the police, but they made excuses-one even claimed he didn't have balance on her phone," her husband said. Frustrated, she stayed at the scene and called the PCR herself, requesting immediate assistance.

Police sources said that on the night of the incident, Prajapati made two to three calls, and those he contacted will also be questioned.

Prajapati told cops that he had been in this construction work field only after COVID. "We have asked for documents from the Delhi Jal Board to verify for whom he was employed at the time of the incident," a senior police officer said.

The inquiry also revealed that the pit into which Kamal fell had been dug on the afternoon of Jan 5, just hours before the accident. There was another pit in the vicinity, which was dug earlier, and regular commuters were familiar with it. However, this was a fresh excavation, which Kamal might not have accounted for, the officer added.

Police had said the on-site inspection showed the Delhi Jal Board and its contractors failed to ensure basic safety during excavation, including barricading, warning signs, reflectors and lighting. Despite knowing open pits could be fatal, they took no precautions and deployed no security guard.