Two brothers died after allegedly inhaling poisonous gas while cleaning the tank of a sewage treatment plant on Jogipur road in Nuh on Thursday evening. Police said the victims, Javed (35) and his younger brother Zahid (25) were not equipped with protective gear such as masks, safety belts and boots.

Police have booked the joint engineer of the plant for culpable homicide after the victims’ family alleged that he had pressured the victims to enter the tank despite repeated refusals and threatened to fire them.

The deceased, residents of Sadai village in Nuh, worked as a pump operator and gardener at the plant.

Police said around 5 pm, the brothers entered the 25-feet deep tank and were allegedly forced to clean the tank and fix its motor.

Bijender Singh, SHO Nuh City, said, “The sewage treatment plant is under the public health department. One of the brothers first entered the tank and got on a platform and started cleaning the tank, which had some water. When he reached the bottom, he suddenly felt dizzy and fell unconscious. The second brother then went to help him and tried to pull him out, but he also fell unconscious due to the poisonous gas that had built up in the tank.”

Police said they received information at 5.45 pm, following which a team rushed to the spot. Fire department officials were also present. Officials said Javed died on the spot, while Zahid was rushed by other workers to the government medical college in Nalhar, where he died during treatment.

Sahoon Khan, deputy fire station in charge, Nuh, said, “When we reached, one person had been rushed to the hospital and his brother was lying unconscious in the tank. Using a neem twig, we assessed that a lot of toxic gas had been built up in the tank. We put whitewash mixture in the tank and entered to retrieve the body. A third person who was involved in the rescue felt dizzy, but he was safely rescued, and is now stable.”

Saurab Nidam, a relative, said both had been working at the plant for more than a decade. “It is not clear if they were working under a contractor or were on DC rate. Their job was to start and operate the motor. The cleaning team was not available. So, the joint engineer forced them to enter the tank. We want justice,” he said.

Hamid, the father of the victims, said, “The accused threatened to sack them if they did not enter the tank. They did not want to do it and were aware of risks. But, they were coerced to enter. This is extremely tragic. Who will look after their families and provide for their children? Zahid has five children and Javed has two young sons. I hope the government gives some compensation or a job to our kin,” he said.

Police said the post-mortem was conducted by a board of medical doctors on Friday. “Prima facie, it appears that they died after inhaling the gas. However, the exact cause of death will be known after the forensic and postmortem report come.

“On the complaint of the victims’ family, an FIR was registered against the joint engineer under IPC section 304,” said SHO Singh.

🗞 Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to access our in-depth reporting, explainers and opinions 🗞️

For all the latest Delhi News, download Indian Express App.