Four officials suspended after 60-year-old dies in Sakinaka manhole
A 60-year-old man died on Thursday afternoon after falling into an open storm drain manhole on Khairani Road in Sakinaka, Mumbai, leading to the suspension of four Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials.
The victim, Aslam Sheikh, fell into the uncovered manhole while civic workers were carrying out desilting and drain maintenance work. According to eyewitnesses, three contractual workers had removed the cover to clean the drain. Sheikh, who was speaking on his mobile phone at the time, failed to notice the opening and fell into the stormwater drain.
Workers immediately lowered a ladder to rescue him, but only his slippers and umbrella were recovered. Due to rapidly flowing rainwater inside the drain, Sheikh was swept downstream. Following an extensive search operation, the Mumbai Fire Brigade traced and recovered his body.
In the wake of the incident, Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide ordered the immediate suspension of four BMC officials pending an inquiry. The suspended officials are Dhanaji Herlekar (assistant commissioner of L Ward), Deepak Chougule (assistant/deputy engineer for maintenance in L Ward), Abhijit Chougule (junior engineer for maintenance in L Ward), and Uttam Patil (assistant engineer in the Sewerage Operations Department).
To prevent future tragedies, the BMC has instructed all departments to ensure barricades are erected on all four sides of active manhole work sites. Commissioner Bhide also directed officials to conduct a 100% safety inspection of all manholes across Mumbai's 26 administrative wards within eight days and submit a compliance report.
Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde announced an ex gratia compensation of Rs 10 lakh for Sheikh's family. Meanwhile, the police have registered the incident and are investigating the circumstances of the accident, while the BMC has initiated its own departmental inquiry into potential negligence.
The incident has sparked sharp political reactions. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar, Mumbai Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi, and Shiv Sena leader Amey Ghole visited the site, with Ghole demanding strict legal action. Congress MP and Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad demanded that police register a murder FIR against the Mayor and the BMC Commissioner, alleging systemic failure and gross negligence.
