Behind a towering mountain of garbage in the narrow lanes of Jaitpur Extension in Badarpur, 55-year-old Vineeta is reeling from the devastating loss of her husband, Digvijay Kumar Chaudhary (61). His lifeless body was discovered near an underpass in Okhla on Saturday, following heavy rains in the city.
In her modest home in Gali number 2, Vineeta, surrounded by relatives, intermittently breaks down, grieving the loss of her husband. “Ab rone ke alawa mere paas bacha hi kya hai,” she lamented. Vineeta has already endured the heartbreak of losing her only son to Covid.
Decades ago, Digvijay, originally from Bihar, moved to Delhi to provide for his family and raise their three children — two daughters and a son. He took on various odd jobs to make ends meet. A few years ago, the younger daughter passed away due to an illness, and in 2021, the couple lost their only son. Their elder daughter is married and lives away from them.
The couple relied on each other for support, but financial strain forced Digvijay to take up a security guard job about a year and a half ago. “After my son passed away, the financial strain on us was immense, which is why he had to start working again. He put his heart and soul into the job, and probably because of that, he lost his life,” Vineeta said.
For a 12-hour shift, seven days a week, Digvijay earned around Rs 15,000. “I used to tell him, if the shift is 12 hours, why do you work more? He would say, ‘I am a security guard supervisor. I should be taking care of other things as well’,” Vineeta recounted.
On Friday, around 4 am, during heavy rains, Digvijay spoke to the night shift guard who informed him about waterlogging in the basement of the company’s building. “I heard him on the phone asking the other guard to turn on the motor to pump the water out. The person on the other side said it would be difficult for him to do so. Then he told me that he had to go look into the matter. He left around 5 am,” Vineeta said.
When Digvijay did not call her by noon, Vineeta called his cellphone. To her surprise, a police officer answered. “I am wondering if I had not called, or if his phone had stopped working, would I have even found out what happened to my husband. There was no communication by the police, even though he was carrying all his identity proof with him,” Vineeta said, showing his Aadhar and company ID, which were damp.
The circumstances surrounding Digvijay’s death remain unclear. “We don’t know if he was electrocuted, drowned, or hit by a vehicle. We are told we will get a post-mortem report in a week,” a family member said.
TOI contacted Trutuff Facility Management Pvt Ltd, where Digvijay worked. Until Sunday, the company had not reached out to the family. “As per our contract, the company is not liable for any injury or mishap. But we will have a meeting and look into it on humanitarian grounds,” an official stated.