Bareilly: Vegetable vendor, resting under tree, buried alive as civic workers dump sludge on him

In what appears to be a shocking incident, a vegetable vendor was buried alive in Baradari area after a sewer cleaning workers unknowingly dumped a load of sludge on him while he was asleep under a tree near a cemetery, Bareilly police said on Saturday.

After a complaint was lodged by the victim's father, SSP Anurag Arya said a case has been filed at the Baradari police station against the accused civic workers, PTI reported.

What did the police say?

According to police, 45-year-old Sunil Kumar Prajapati from Shantipur, who was allegedly intoxicated, was resting under a tree near his home on Thursday afternoon when a team of civic workers, led by Naem, dumped a tractor-trolley full of sludge on him, the officer stated.

The person navigating the tractor-trolley apparently didn't see Prajapati, the officer added.

After some time, the victim’s son discovered his father buried beneath the sludge and, with the help of local residents, managed to pull him out. Prajapati was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

Municipal Commissioner Sanjeev Kumar Maurya stated that orders have been given to launch an investigation into the incident.

Other related incidents

In a separate incident, on May 23, 2025, two women laborers died and two others were injured when a mound of soil collapsed during basement excavation work at the Old Faridabad Railway Station. The incident occurred while workers were resting near the excavation site. Preliminary investigations revealed violations of safety regulations, TOI had reported.

Earlier, two contract labourers were buried alive under a mound of earth that collapsed on them at a metallic factory in West Bengal's Changual area on April 19, TOI report had said. The workers were scooping out earth when the accident occurred. The bodies were retrieved after several hours, and compensation was promised to the bereaved families.