A 51-year-old autorickshaw driver identified as Ajit Sharma, who was a resident of Nandanagri, drowned in a ditch filled with rainwater after the vehicle accidentally fell into it at the site of the under-construction Gagan Cinema flyover in northeast Delhi's Harsh Vihar on Friday, said police. A Public Works Department official said they are trying to ascertain more details and facts about the incident, as reported by news agency PTI. The ditch, in which Sharma accidentally fell, was dug by the Public Works Department to install a pillar as part of the construction of a flyover. Officials said the rainwater filled the ditch following heavy showers in the national capital during the last two days.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast) Joy Tirkey said a PCR call was received around 3.30 pm about a man drowning in a ditch near the service road alongside Wazirabad Road.
He said the ditch, which was dug near an under-construction flyover, was filled with rainwater. Tirkey further said preliminary inquiry suggested that the man did not realise the depth of the ditch, and tried to drive over it. However, he accidentally drowned in it.
Police said they found the autorickshaw stuck in the ditch and Sharma's body was spotted by a passerby. However, the officials have not found any witnesses to Sharma's drowning so far. The incident took place after the deceased left home on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, the police have not found any injury marks on his body and they said it will be handed over to his family after post-mortem, reported PTI. The incident took place after heavy rains showered Delhi and caused waterlogging over the past two days in several parts. This also led to traffic congestion due to the heavy rain.
The waterlogging of roads also sparked an attack from the BJP with the party's Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva hitting out at the AAP government.
Earlier, in a statement, Sachdeva said that despite the Delhi government's "tall claims", most roads in the city were submerged after the rain on Thursday night and Friday.
"The situation can be gauged from the fact that the ground floor of the secretariat of the Delhi government was waterlogged while an auto driver died by drowning in a roadside ditch in Harsh Vihar near Wazirabad. The news has disturbed the people of Delhi,” he said, as quoted by PTI.
Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who also held the Public Works department portfolio, earlier said, "With the construction of an underpass at Loni Chowk in northeast Delhi and a flyover between Nand Nagri and Gagan Cinema junction, the entire 10-kilometre road stretch between Signature Bridge to Bhopura Chowk will become signal free," as reported by PTI.