The police identified the deceased as G Babu, a loadman at a vegetable market in Tiruvallur. The probe revealed that Babu lived with his wife and son. His son, too, is working as a loadman in the market.

Babu, who usually sleeps by the sidewalks after work, used to return home in the morning. During the early hours of Saturday, he was walking back home from the market when the incident happened.

He was walking in front of the District Health Office on Vadakku Raja Veethi when he fell into the drain and became unconscious. A passerby noticed him about an hour later and alerted the authorities. After which, the police moved him to the Tiruvallur Government Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

The police said no proper CCTV footage was available. They are awaiting post-mortem results to find if the deceased was inebriated, as the probe suggested that he regularly consumed alcohol after work. A case has been registered, and further investigations are ongoing. After the man's death, authorities made makeshift arrangements to cover the drain.