At least seven people, including four sweepers, died while cleaning a gutter line and associated soak well (‘khar kuwa’ in local language) near a hotel in Faratikui village under Dabhoi taluka of Vadodara district in central Gujarat, police said on Saturday.
According to police, three people, who died late Friday night, were employees of Darshan Hotel, near which the incident took place.
Police said that owner of the hotel, identified as Hassan Abbas, who had reportedly engaged the sweepers and his workers to clean the gutter line, locked the hotel and fled the scene after the incident.
Police said that it was being investigated whether they had died due to asphyxiation, or simply drowned.
The deceased have been identified as Hitesh A Harijan (23), his father Ashok B. Harijan (45), Mahesh M. Harijan (25), Mahesh R. Pananwadiya (46), all four sweepers and residents of village Thuwavi in Dabhoi taluka, Ajay Vasava (24), resident Kadvali village in Netrang Taluka of Bharuch, Vijay A. Chaudhry (22) and Shahdev R. Vasava (22), both residents of village Velavi in Umarpada taluka of Surat district. (UNI)
