India / 60-yr-old man's body found under water-logged Minto Bridge in Delhi

New Delhi: The body of a 60-year-old man was found under the Minto Bridge in central Delhi on Sunday morning after a spell of rain in the morning. The police said that the man drowned while trying to manoeuvre his tempo through the water-logged underpass.

Rajender Dubey, assistant commissioner of police (Barakhamba Road), said that the body was found around 10 am. “The man, Kundan, was driving his Tata Ace tempo from New Delhi railway station towards Connaught Place when he possibly drowned,” said the ACP.

While the time at which he drowned could not immediately be ascertained, another police officer said that Kundan’s body was discovered by a trackman working at New Delhi railway station yard.

“He swam and retrieved the body before the police were alerted,” said the officer.

The body was found in the water close to a spot where a DTC bus was submerged in the water-logged underpass.

Atul Garg, director of Delhi Fire Services, said while he was unaware of a body being found, his officers rescued three people after they received a call about a DTC bus and two autorickshaws being submerged in the water.

“We received the call around 7.45 am and rescued the driver and conductor of the bus and an auto driver,” said Garg, adding that there were no passengers in the bus at that time.

ACP Dubey, meanwhile, said that there were no external injuries on Kundan’s body. “It looks like he died of drowning. We are initiating inquest proceedings and are still probing the circumstances under which he died,” said the ACP.

The rain on Sunday morning led to water-logging at several stretches of roads across the national capital. According to the Delhi Traffic Police, the affected roads included Azadpur Underpass, South Avenue Road, Pul Prahladpur Underpass, Paharganj side of New Delhi railway station, Moolachand Underpass and near Batra Hospital, among others.

The traffic police also issued an advisory asking bus and tempo drivers to avoid wading through submerged roads as manholes could have been swept away or ditches could have flared up.