Four people were arrested in Bengaluru after a labourer, who developed breathing issues on Sunday evening while cleaning a manhole in Akshaya Nagar, was found dead on Monday.
The deceased has been identified as Puttaswamy, 31, a resident of RMC Yard. The police said Nagaraju, Antony, Ananthkumar, and Devaraju have been arrested under section 106 (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act.
According to a police officer, Nagaraju hired Puttaswamy and daily wager Antony to clean a clogged manhole around 7 pm on Sunday. The two men entered without safety gear and developed breathing problems after inhaling toxic gases. Despite their distress, no medical assistance was provided after the two men emerged from the manhole.
On Monday morning, Puttaswamy was found dead at home. His body has been sent for postmortem examination. Following a complaint filed by the deceased’s father, the Bengaluru police registered a case and launched an investigation.
In 2023, two workers died while cleaning the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) of a luxury apartment on Kanakapura Road in the city. In 2021, three people, including one from Odisha and another from Nepal, died in Bengaluru while carrying out manual scavenging work.
According to a 2024 report by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Karnataka has 2,927 identified manual scavengers. A government official said the state has reported nearly 100 deaths due to manual scavenging in the last 30 years, and nearly half of them were in Bengaluru.
State government records, however, say that 7,493 manual scavengers have been identified in Karnataka, and 1,625 of them are in the limits of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).