Mumbai: A day after a 55-year-old man died after falling into an open manhole, the Sakinaka police on Friday arrested three workers and launched a manhunt for the contractor, who remains absconding. The incident has triggered outrage against the BMC, with questions being raised over its monsoon preparedness.
At around 12.26 pm on Thursday, Aslam Isak Shaikh, a resident of Andheri East, was returning home from work when he fell into the uncovered manhole and died. According to the police, he was looking at his phone and failed to notice the open manhole.
Based on a complaint lodged by a BMC officer from L Ward, the police booked the three workers and the contractor under Sections 106(1) (causing death by negligence) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). However, the police have not disclosed the names of the accused, saying that doing so could hamper the investigation.
Senior Inspector Avinash Mandle said, “Police teams have been formed to trace and arrest the contractor.” According to the police, repair work on a stormwater drain was being carried out on Khairani Road near Sanman Hotel by a BMC-appointed contractor. As part of the work, a manhole had been opened to install a safety net, a mandatory monsoon safety measure. CCTV footage of the incident, which has gone viral, shows that there were no barricades around the open manhole and no workers were present to warn pedestrians of the danger.
Within hours of the incident on Thursday, four civic officials, including L Ward Assistant Municipal Commissioner Dhanaji Hirle, were suspended. Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide has constituted an inquiry committee headed by the Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs), which has been directed to submit its report within seven days. The BMC has also announced compensation of `10 lakh for the deceased’s family.
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