Contract worker dies at Delhi University South Campus, questions raised over negligence

By Sunil Kumar* 

A contract worker, Ranjit Gautam, died at Delhi University's South Campus on September 7, 2026. His death was not natural. The information that has come to light after the incident raises serious questions about the alleged gross negligence of the Delhi University administration.

Ranjit Kumar Gautam, aged 34, lived with his family at Shriram JJ Camp, Nanakpura. He was employed as a gardener at South Campus under the company M/S Excellent Homes and Gardens. According to his colleagues, for the past nine months the company had been making Ranjit Gautam do electrical work as well, in addition to his duties as a gardener. His family alleges that Ranjit Gautam died of electrocution while doing electrical work.

Local residents said that electrical repair equipment was found at the site, and a screwdriver was found in Ranjit's pocket — evidence that he was being made to do electrical work at the time of the incident. In fact, neither the police nor the family was informed about the incident by the university or the company. This shows that the collusion between the Delhi University administration and M/S Excellent Homes and Gardens tried to deliberately suppress the incident.

According to residents, Ranjit received the electric shock at around 4 pm, but he was taken to Charak Palika Hospital, Moti Bagh only after the employees' shift ended (after 5 pm). On reaching the hospital, doctors declared him "brought dead" — meaning he was declared dead before he even reached the hospital. At around 5.30 pm, the hospital informed the police by phone that a dead person had been brought in, whose death was caused by electrocution.

The family learned of Ranjit's death from a neighbour, who had gone to Charak Palika Hospital for his child's treatment, saw Ranjit dead there, and then called and informed the locality. As soon as news of the incident spread, the locality was thrown into turmoil, and word reached the student organisation 'PACCHAS' and 'Inquilabi Mazdoor Kendra', who were protesting nearby at the time.

At the time this incident occurred, the deceased's family was mourning the death of a relative. 'PACCHAS', 'Inquilabi Mazdoor Kendra' and students of South Campus, together with a relative of the family, held talks with the Deputy Director of South Campus, Sanjeev Singh, at night. No member of the family was present at these talks, and Sanjeev Singh fobbed them off with hollow assurances.

When people understood the next morning how hollow Sanjeev Singh's assurances were, the students and organisations, along with the family and residents, went to speak to the South Campus Director. The deceased's family members were crying outside the Director's office, but for more than three hours nobody came to meet them. A security officer came and said that talks had already taken place, so why had they come again — and the Director's office and the main gate of South Campus were closed.

Ultimately, after the gate was opened, the university administration agreed to talk with a one-member delegation.

The SHO and ACP, along with the Deputy Director, Deputy Registrar, Security Officer and another official, participated in the talks. There, the Deputy Registrar put forward grand arguments about the "humanitarian angle". It was astonishing to hear talk of a humanitarian angle from the mouths of people who had not even offered water to the weeping family.

On the family's demands for compensation and a job, all they would say was that they could "take the demand forward". And when it came to the fact that Ranjit had been made to do an electrician's work, their response was that some people take on extra work for additional money! Even on the failure to inform the family, they remained silent.

The administration was willing to give one family member a job on contract. For the cremation, they would only speak of providing an ambulance. In talks lasting about an hour, the university administration kept going around in circles and gave a receipt for the demand letter — without even a seal. They said the office had closed, so the seal could not be affixed.

As soon as they stepped out of the meeting room, students and family members surrounded the university administration. Expressing displeasure at this attitude, the students questioned the Deputy Registrar for half an hour. Forced to bow before the students, the university administration had to give a receipt for the demand letter on university letterhead, complete with seal and signature, and had to give it in writing that they would make every effort from their side to fulfil the demand.

The family also raised the issue of the contractor forcibly taking money from employees, on which the university administration claimed ignorance. Ranjit's sister said that 3,000 rupees were being demanded from Ranjit, which had put him under pressure, because even otherwise it was becoming difficult to run the family on his earnings.

The police, in FIR No. 154/26, added mild sections of the BNS — Section 287 (negligence with respect to machinery or electric equipment) and Section 106(1) (causing death by negligence) — in an attempt to paint the victim himself as negligent. The students expressed their displeasure over the FIR to the SHO as well and demanded that the SC/ST Act and a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder be included in the FIR, to which the SHO gave a verbal assurance that it would be corrected during the investigation.

We can see that the academic institution and the police administration have already made up their minds not to deliver justice for a worker's death. The offenders themselves have become the protectors. The Security Officer whose responsibility it was to get Ranjit to hospital in time and save his life — that officer did not even want to give water to the weeping family members. Even during the talks, he used words like "wasting time".

Today, the way the students and the student organisation PACCHAS stood with the worker's family and tried to secure justice, we need this everywhere. Young people and organisations should come forward everywhere, stand firmly with the working people before this administration that has turned blind and deaf, connect them with their student, youth and workers' organisations, and strengthen the fight.

The fight for justice is not a fight of a day or two. It has to be fought every day, every hour — and only when we fight like this will Ranjit's family get justice.

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*Contact: sk688751@gmail.com