As per the preliminary investigation, the three died after inhaling poisonous gases from the tank.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Three men aged 32 to 42 died while cleaning a septic tank at a factory in the Mundka Industrial Area on Friday, the police said. The bodies were pulled out and sent for a post-mortem examination to ascertain the cause of death.
The police have arrested three persons, including factory owner Suraj Marwaha and a contractor, and registered a case under BNS Sections 106 (death by negligence) and 3(5) (common intention), Section 9 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (which outlines the punishment for engaging any person in hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks), and Section 3(1)(j) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (forcing a person into manual scavenging).
Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Services and Delhi Disaster Management Authority were informed at 12.03 p.m. about some persons being trapped inside a septic tank at a printing press in Mundka, said an official.
Poisonous gases
As per the preliminary investigation, the three entered the tank one after the other and died after inhaling poisonous gases.
The bodies of Arun, 38, Sandeep, 32, and Chand, 42 – all residents of Indira Jheel in Sultanpuri – were recovered from the tank.
Mr. Marwaha had hired a contractor named Neeraj from Nangloi to clean the septic tank inside the factory, said the police. “Neeraj and the three men were engaged in cleaning the tank when the incident took place. The bodies have been shifted to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital for a post-mortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of death. Appropriate legal action is being taken under relevant sections of the law,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Vikram Singh. The contractor and a factory worker, Jayant, were also arrested.
Senior government officials said a detailed report will be prepared to ascertain the exact sequence of events and the cause of death, adding that the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation is responsible for cleaning septic tanks in industrial areas.
According to Bezwada Wilson, national convener of the Safai Karamchari Andolan, who met the deceased workers’ families, there are nearly 30,000 sanitation workers in the national capital, of whom 10,000 work exclusively as septic and sewer tank cleaners. “No sanitation worker can be asked to go inside a tank and clean it, even with protective gear. The task needs to be done completely in a mechanised way,” he said.
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, makes it illegal to employ manual scavengers.
However, trade union activists claim that manual scavenging remains rampant in the city. “Government departments are frequently seen hiring manual scavengers to clean underground sewers and septic tanks without any protective gear,” said Sucheta De, vice-president of the All India Central Council of Trade Unions.
Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav said the incident was a result of “gross administrative negligence” and demanded a probe, along with compensation for the deceased’s families.
Official data
Last year, multiple deaths were reported during the cleaning of sewers and septic tanks in Ashok Vihar, New Friends Colony and Narela. As per data shared by the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) with the Lok Sabha in March this year, Delhi has reported 62 deaths due to hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks since 2017. NCSK data also show that Delhi registered the highest number of complaints – 140 – regarding manual scavenging in 2025 among 22 States and two Union Territories despite being one of the first cities to ban the practice.
Published – June 27, 2026 12:59 am IST