Janakpuri biker death: Family alleges police negligence after 25-year-old falls into Delhi Jal Board pit

A 25-year-old motorcyclist died on Thursday evening after falling into an open excavation in Delhi’s Janakpuri area. The victim, Kamal Dhyani, was commuting home when the accident occurred.

His family has alleged a lack of police cooperation. Dhyani’s brother claimed that relatives visited six different police stations seeking help. They only learned of the tragedy the following morning when a policeman answered Dhyani’s mobile phone.

"When I last talked to him, he said he would reach home in 10 minutes," his brother stated. “When I called again at 12:30 AM, he didn't pick up. We got worried and started looking for him.”

The brother first checked Dhyani’s office in Rohini and then went to the Janakpuri police station. "The police gave us his last location, but we couldn't find him. This is gross negligence. My brother would not deliberately crash into a pit," he added. He claimed they checked the pit at 1:30 AM but found nothing. "If the police had acted on time, my brother would be alive," he said.

A friend of Dhyani also criticised the police response. He claimed officers told them a formal report could not be filed until 11 AM the next day. While police monitored the phone's signal, they allegedly refused to share specific coordinates.

He said he had spoken to his friend when he reached the District Centre and was just 15 minutes from home. When he failed to arrive after an hour and did not answer calls, they feared he may have met with an accident, as he had been involved in crashes earlier.

The friend said that the family later went to the District Centre and then to the police station, where they were told a complaint could only be registered after 11 AM. On their request, police traced his location and asked them to search within a 200-metre radius. Seven people searched the area from midnight to 7 AM, but found nothing. He added that the pit had been checked at 1 AM and that the road had been monitored throughout the night, making it unclear how the victim ended up there later.

Consequently, a search party of seven individuals attempted to locate the victim but remained unsuccessful.

The friend criticised the law enforcement agency, arguing that it ignored the emergency's critical nature by refusing to provide precise tracking data during the search, which led to the fatal outcome. He further challenged the department regarding why the handset was not successfully traced during the night.

DCP West, Sharad Bhaskar, promised that if aid was indeed withheld from the family and friends during their search, the conduct would be thoroughly investigated.

Bhaskar said a pit dug for Delhi Jal Board work proved fatal after 25-year-old Kamal Dhyani’s motorcycle fell into it on Monday night. He said the police would investigate all stakeholders involved in the DJB project. According to him, the victim’s brother approached the Janakpuri police station around 2:45 AM after Kamal failed to return home. The police then tracked the victim’s mobile phone, which last showed his location near Janakpuri District Park.

He said that a head constable, along with family members, searched the area for nearly two-and-a-half hours but found nothing. Bhaskar said the matter came to light around 8 AM when a woman informed the police about a body lying in a 15-foot-deep pit. He added that while records show the family visited the Janakpuri police station, allegations that help was sought from multiple police stations would be examined. An FIR is being registered, and efforts are underway to retrieve the motorcycle from the pit.