NCP-SP Working President Supriya Sule on Wednesday called for stricter lift safety rules after a seven-year-old boy died after getting trapped inside a lift at a residential building in Pune's Nimbaj Nagar.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Sule wrote, "The incident involving the death of a young child trapped in an elevator at Nimbaj Nagar, located in the Sinhagad Road area of Pune, is deeply tragic and heart-wrenching. I offer my heartfelt tribute to the little one who lost his life in this unfortunate mishap. We stand in solidarity with the grieving family during this time of immense sorrow."
"I earnestly request the Government of Maharashtra and the Commissioner of the Pune Municipal Corporation to take note of the recurring incidents of accidents caused by people getting trapped in lifts. To prevent such tragedies from happening again, it is imperative to conduct regular and mandatory audits of lifts, fire safety systems, and electrical supply infrastructure in residential buildings. Furthermore, a clear and stringent set of regulations must be formulated in this regard," the Baramati MP added.
She further said that it should be made mandatory to prominently display information regarding the date of the last lift audit and the scheduled date for the next inspection in a location easily visible to residents. Giving the utmost priority to the safety of citizens is the need of the hour, she concluded.
According to the information received, the child, identified as Shivansh Shailesh Dhoot, had gone out to play near his residence when the incident took place on Monday.
Recounting the incident, the boy's father, Shailesh Dhoot, said the family began searching for the child after he failed to reach the playground.
"Shivansh, my son, had gone to play on the ground. After some time, when my daughter returned and I enquired with her about Shivansh, she said that he never came to the playground," Dhoot said.
"At this, my wife and I began to search for him. During the search, my wife noticed that the lift was stuck and saw our son lying inside. We broke open the door to find that my son was stuck between the lift and the passage below," he added.
According to Dhoot, fire brigade officials and police personnel rushed to the spot after the incident was reported.
Meanwhile, an accidental death case has been registered at Sinhgad Road Police Station, and further investigation is underway to ascertain the exact circumstances surrounding the incident.
