Labourer crushed to death as crane lifter snaps at Commonwealth Village site

The police said Shailendra Singh, who worked for Ahluwalia Constructions, was loading cement blocks in the crane lifter when the mishap occurred.

8220;The lifter was being hauled up when it suddenly broke down, allegedly because it was overloaded, and fell on Shailendra,8221; a senior police officer said.

He was rushed to hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. Singh was a resident of Pandav Nagar area in East Delhi and had been working with the construction company for the last few years.

As news of his death spread, fellow workers stopped work and protested before the branch office of the construction company.

They damaged the office and demanded compensation for Singh8217;s family. The angry workers did not even spare the ambulance, as it reached late, and damaged it too.

Singh8217;s family too gathered at the spot to protest and demanded compensation.

Jyot Singh, his brother, said: 8220;Labourers are being treated like animals here. For a paltry pay, they have to work day and night without proper precautionary arrangements at high-risk sites. The incident too occurred because of negligence and we want an unbiased probe.8221;

A worker at the same site alleged the construction company had been negligent and that there were no safety arrangements for workers.

8220;Many incidents take place every day and many workers suffer injuries. The construction company does not pay attention to this,8221; a worker said on condition of anonymity.

The police confirmed that the incident occurred because of negligence on part of the staff operating the crane.

The police said one V P Singh, claiming to be the legal advisor of the company, said the company did not know of any Shailendra Singh.

Later, he was reportedly beaten up by the angry workers.

DCP East District Shankar Dass said, 8220;We have registered a case against the company and are investigating the matter.8221;

Shailendra Singh belonged to Gurdaspur district of Punjab and lived with his younger brother here.

His body has been sent to the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital for a postmortem examination.