Man untraceable 24 hours after falling into drain in Delhi's Mehrauli

New Delhi, Oct 1 (PTI) A 33-year-old man who fell into a drain during heavy rain in South Delhi's Mehrauli has remained untraceable even after 24 hours, police said on Wednesday.

The victim has been identified as Devendra alias Kalu, a native of Hathras in Uttar Pradesh. Devendra, who was working at a flour mill in Mehrauli for the past two months, drowned in a drain near Hazrat Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki's dargah, they said.

A PCR call was received around 1.10 pm on Tuesday informing that a man had drowned.

"Police teams and fire department personnel rushed to the spot and launched a search operation, but despite hours of effort, he could not be found. The search will resume on Wednesday morning," a senior police officer said.

Devendra's brother Kishan identified him from a 10-second video circulating on social media that showed a man being swept away in the heavy flow of rainwater.

Munni, a florist, told PTI, "I run a flower shop by the canal and was sitting there when the incident happened. It was raining and we were busy removing things from the shop when we suddenly saw a man about to drown." She said they tried to rescue him but could not. "He had been floating down from the market side and went straight into the drain. I don't know how deep the drain is or where it leads, only that it goes into the forest." Mithilesh, a relative of the victim, said, "The boy who drowned was my nephew. His parents had already passed away, so he lived alone here in a rented place, while his uncle also lives nearby. He has two sisters, one is a widow and the other is married, and both stay in the village." He said when water came rushing from the market side, his balance was lost. "He was holding his mobile phone, and someone must have tried to catch him, but he slipped away and was swept inside. We haven't found him till now," he told PTI.

Mithilesh further said Devendra was the one running his household expenses. "Now, he is gone and is still missing," Mithilesh said, breaking down.

Police said a scooter was also swept along with the man into the drain due to the force of the water. Rescue teams continued the operation till late in the evening but the victim has not been located yet.

Meanwhile, Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav demanded Rs 20 lakh compensation to the next of kin of Devendra alias Kalu.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj wrote on social media platform X, "On Tuesday, on Maha Ashtami, this poor man was swept away in front of everyone's eyes in Mehrauli. He was searched for all night but could not be found. Perhaps he got trapped further ahead in the underground drain." "Even during Janmashtami rains, many people in Delhi, including a two-and-a-half-year-old child, lost their lives, while the government is dancing, jumping and claiming that everything is fine," he added. PTI SSJ SLB SSJ KSS KSS