Two men drown in well in KG Halli

Two men were killed after they descended into an abandoned well with stagnant drain water to clean it on Saturday on Nagawara Main Road in KG Halli.

The deceased have been identified as Gafoor Pasha (40), a worker at a tea stall, and his friend Aftab Pasha (38).

According to the complaint filed by Gafoor’s wife, Haseena Banu, the tea stall owner Naveed had been asking Gafoor to clean the well where drain water had accumulated for over a week.

Even though Gafoor objected to the demand, the owner forced Gafoor and his friend Aftab Pasha to descend into the well around 10.30 am on Saturday, said Haseena in her complaint.

The men descended into the small circular well with the help of ropes. Though it is unclear, the duo are suspected to have inhaled toxic gases and lost consciousness following which they fell into the sludge and drowned. They had no safety equipments, the complaint said.

Naveed alerted neighbours about the incident. Later, fire and emergency services personnel were called in to recover the bodies.

The KG Halli police have booked three people under sections of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 as well as culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Naveed, Jaleel, the owner of the building, and Aseef, an associate of Naveed, have also been booked by the KG Halli Police.