Four men died of suspected suffocation after climbing down into a well one after another in an attempt to rescue a calf that had accidentally fallen into it in Munimpur village late on Sunday night.
The deceased have been identified as Dalbir (40), Monu (35) and Narendra (37), all residents of Munimpur, and Ram Lal (32) of Bihar. They are suspected to have inhaled toxic gases that had accumulated inside the well.
The rescue operation continued for nearly three hours, but all four victims were brought out unconscious and could not be saved, triggering outrage in the village.
Congress MLA from Badli Kuldeep Vats, who remained at the spot during the rescue operation, and villagers blamed the administration for an allegedly delayed and inadequate response.
Holding administrative negligence responsible for the deaths, villagers alleged that despite informing the police through Dial 112 immediately after the incident, the response was delayed. They also claimed repeated calls to the Civil Hospital and the Fire Department went unanswered.
“Later, a fire tender from Reliance MET City reached the spot and the victims were pulled out unconscious. The ambulance that arrived had neither doctors nor oxygen cylinders,” the villagers alleged.
On Monday morning, the bereaved families refused to allow post-mortem examinations until their demands were accepted. They sought government jobs for the next of kin, financial assistance, free education for the victims’ children and action against officials responsible for the alleged delay in the rescue operation.
The deadlock ended after a village panchayat was held. It was attended by BJP national secretary Om Prakash Dhankar, MLA Kuldeep Vats, Deputy Commissioner Varsha Khangwal and other senior officials. Following several rounds of talks, the families agreed to the post-mortem examinations after a consensus was reached on their key demands.
According to officials, the next of kin of each deceased will receive financial assistance of Rs 41 lakh along with a government job.
Deputy Commissioner Varsha Khangwal said the financial assistance would come from the government, social and corporate organisations, while employment would be provided through the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam according to the beneficiaries’ educational qualifications.
“Action has been proposed against the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Fire Department officials for the ill-equipped and inadequate rescue response, as well as the failure of an ambulance to reach the village to carry the last and fourth victim. Directions have also been issued to cover all such open wells across the district to prevent similar incidents,” Varsha added.