Man swept away after falling into open drain

A man was swept away after he fell into an open stormwater drain near the gate of Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki Dargah in Mehrauli, South Delhi, on Tuesday.

The victim has been identified as Devendra (33), alias Kalu, a native of Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. He had been working at a flour mill in Mehrauli for the past two months.

Search operations continued for the second day today, but he could not be found, officials said.

The police said along with the man, a scooter was also swept away into the open drain during heavy rain here on Tuesday afternoon.

The incident came to light after a video recorded by a local shopkeeper was circulated on the social media. The footage showed a man being swept away by the strong current. Though bystanders tried to help him, they could not succeed. Devendra’s brother Kishan later identified him from the video.

Following the incident, Delhi Police, Fire Department personnel and rescue teams carried out a search operation till late Tuesday evening. The search operation continued on Wednesday, but the victim could not be traced till the filing of this report.

Kishan alleged negligence on part of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), stating that the drain had been left uncovered despite repeated requests.

Manish, a shopkeeper in the area, said the drain had been posing a risk to people for several days.