A 27-year-old man was allegedly crushed to death in Gurugram’s Kherki Daula on Wednesday after he fell into a hydraulic press at a scrap-processing factory, police said on Thursday, adding that they have yet to establish the circumstances of the incident.The victim had been working as a cook at the factory in the Nakhrola area for the last several years, they added.The victim was identified as Raj Kumar, who hailed from Patna, Bihar. He had been working as a cook at the factory in the Nakhrola area for the last several years, they added.A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, said the incident took place around 3pm during routine work. “Workers told police that Kumar was rushing from one location to another inside the factory when he fell into the compactor and the press crushed him, resulting in his instant death,” he said.Workers informed the factory manager and the owner, before the police control room was alerted and the press was shut down, the officer added.Investigators said that, though the emergency response vehicles and ambulance reached the spot, the press had completed several cycles of compression by that time.Sandeep Turan, public relation officer (PRO) of Gurugram police, said rescue workers pulled out the remains and sent them to a government mortuary for an autopsy that is likely to be conducted on Friday.“It is unclear if the incident was an accident, suicide or a prank that went wrong. CCTV camera footage of the factory was scanned in which the suspect could be seen running inside the factory,” he added.Surveillance footage seen by the police allegedly showed that the victim suddenly turned on the hydraulic press while running, and rushed towards it, causing him to fall in, the PRO added. “We are waiting for his family members from Patna to act further in the incident after ascertaining from them if he was under any mental duress,” he said.HT has not seen the video.Police are also questioning factory workers and colleagues to establish the exact sequence of events before the incident took place.“If the family members allege foul play, we will register an FIR. Necessary legal action will be taken on the basis of the family’s statement after they arrive in Gurugram by Friday or Saturday,” he added.Industrial scrap generated from various sources is dumped at the factory, which had a hydraulic press capable of generating up to 60-tonne compacting force to compress everything into small cubes for packaging and easy transportation for recycling.