The Tilak Nagar police on Wednesday arrested a 50-year-old Chembur resident in connection with the death of a three-year-old girl, who was killed in a wall collapse on Tuesday.
According to the Tilak Nagar police, the accused has been identified as Dadasaheb Kadam, the owner of the land on which the mishap occurred.
The police said that Kadam, a teacher by profession, had bought the land in Jai Ambe Nagar some years ago to construct a school on it, and over the years, around 17 to 18 illegal huts had sprung up in one corner of the land. In order to prevent any further encroachment, Kadam wanted to construct a compound wall.
“The wall that he put up was of very inferior quality. On Monday, as the area received a lot of rainfall, the compound wall became even shakier than it already was, and it collapsed on Tuesday,” police inspector Vilas Rathod, Tilak Nagar police station said.
The wall fell on a hut immediately next to it. Naira Dhotre (3) and her grandmother were sleeping inside. Both of them were rushed to the Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar, where Naira was declared dead before admission. Her parents, both of them daily wage labourers, were at work at the time of the incident.
Based on a complaint filed by Naira’s father Hanumant, the police on Wednesday arrested Kadam and charged him with causing death and injury due to negligence under the Indian Penal Code. He was subsequently granted bail, officers said.
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