NEW DELHI, July 18 -- A 52-year-old security guard drowned in a water tank at a government school in north Delhi's Inderlok area, police said on Friday.
The incident was reported around 11 pm on Thursday when a PCR call was received informing that a man, identified as Dharmender, had drowned in the water tank of a school, an official said.
Dharmender was rushed to Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital in Ashok Vihar where doctors declared him dead, he said.
"Dharmender had been working as a security guard at the Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya school, located near Inderlok Metro Station, for the past five years and was on duty during the evening shift on July 17 from 2 pm to 10 pm," Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Raja Banthia said.
His colleague, Pappu Kumar, who was scheduled to take over the night shift at 10 pm, arrived at the school but found the main gate locked, he said. After failing to find Dharmender, Pappu contacted his son Tarun who reached the spot and entered the premises by climbing over the gate, the officer said.
Soon after, Pappu, Tarun and his mother searched the school premises and discovered Dharmender's body inside a 5,000-litre water tank located on the ground floor, he said.
"A ladder was found next to the tank, suggesting he may have climbed up to check the water level, which was part of his daily routine before ending his shift," the officer added.
Preliminary enquiry found no external injuries on the body or suspicious activity in CCTV footage from the school's main gate. The family raised no allegations. A post-mortem is underway and proceedings under Section 194 of the BNSS have been initiated. Dharmender is survived by his wife and two children. Further investigation continues; the school has not responded.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.