Mumbai construction firm directors booked for negligence 2 weeks after death of labourer at site

According to the police, the accident occurred in the afternoon on August 4 when Sheikh was working at a 17-storey under-construction building in the Saiwadi area in Andheri (East). He reached the construction site as usual on August 4, and was assigned a job to load a sack filled with cement on the service lift to be used for construction work on the higher floor.

A police officer said that when the elevator was going up, the sack fell and fell on the head of Sheikh, who was standing below, and he suffered serious injuries. The officer said that due to the impact, Sheikh suffered severe head injuries and both his legs were fractured near the thigh.

Sheikh was rushed to a hospital in Jogeshwari, where he was declared dead. The hospital authority informed the Andheri police about the accident, and his body was shifted to Cooper Hospital for a postmortem examination.

During the investigation, the police found that there was no railing on the service lift, and no safety net or danger notice boards were installed.

The Andheri police registered a First Information Report (FIR) under sections 106 (1) (causing death due to negligence) and 125 (negligent acts that pose a risk to human life or safety) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against Ramesh Patel and Shivdas R Patel, directors of the construction firm.

The FIR states that even no safety equipment, like helmets, which are necessary for the safety of human life, was not used by the contractor.

The police said they also recorded the statement of the deceased’s wife.