NEW DELHI: A day after two sanitation workers died at a posh Rajouri Garden restro bar while cleaning a kitchen waste treatment plant, two of Pirates of Grill’s managers were arrested on Sunday, police said.
DCP, west, Monika Bhardwaj said Pankaj, who is the area manager and Aftab who is the unit manager were arrested under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC, and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The officer said the restaurant was sealed and a forensic team visited the spot.The police has written to Delhi Pollution Control Committee, the licensing authority for restaurants for their water, sewer and electricity connections. The victims, Rakesh Singh Yadav, 42, and Ajay Kanojia, 19, were employed in the housekeeping department of Pirates of Grill.
They were pulled out of the plant located in the basement in an unconscious state. They were cleaning the waste treatment plant without masks, safety belts, gloves and boots. Yadav belonged to Sultanpur and Ajay hailed from Bahraich district, both in Uttar Pradesh. On Saturday, the chain’s co-founder, Jasmeet Banga, two supervisors and the general manager were questioned.
Expressing his grief over the incident, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari demanded that a criminal case of murder be lodged against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the officers concerned. He said Kejriwal was “himself responsible for this criminal negligence”. “He should also resign for this criminal act,” he said.
Tiwari also demanded modern equipment and salary for the workers and said security of sanitation workers was important. “Kejriwal had promised to provide modern equipment to sanitation workers. But even after four years, he has not fulfilled it. We demand that protective gears should be provided to them.”
According to data by the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) last year, one person died every five days, on an average, while cleaning sewers and septic tanks across the country.
IN A NUTSHELL
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