Mira Road crane collapse victim's family protests police inaction over FIR
A 21-year-old bystander was killed on Thursday evening when a construction crane collapsed from the 13th floor of an under-construction building at the JP North Complex in Mira Road, Mumbai, sparking protests outside the Kashigaon Police Station after the police allegedly refused to register an FIR against the builder.
The deceased, identified as Mujammil Khokhar, was passing by the construction site when the crane reportedly malfunctioned and crashed onto the road below. The falling crane crushed several parked vehicles and trapped passersby under the debris. Locals pulled Khokhar from the wreckage and rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Three other people were injured in the incident, and nearly 12 two-wheelers and four-wheelers were damaged.
Following the incident, the victim's father accused the Kashigaon Police of refusing to register a First Information Report (FIR) against the builder, JP Infra, despite his repeated requests.
A video of the protest outside the Kashigaon Police Station went viral on social media, showing a crowd gathered to demand justice. In the video, the grieving father claimed he was made to wait for nearly four hours after naming the builder in his complaint.
"My son was just passing by when the crane fell on him. He died on the spot. When we asked for his body, the police told me to file an FIR. But when I named the builder, they refused to register it. I've been waiting here for four hours," the father said in the video.
Protesters accompanying the family accused the police of delaying tactics and demanded action against those responsible. They appealed to senior police officials, including the Police Commissioner, to intervene. The protesters also warned that they would file a petition in the Bombay High Court if no action was taken.
Following the mishap, teams from the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation Fire Brigade, police, and other emergency agencies rushed to the site to launch rescue and debris clearance operations. An investigation into the exact cause of the crane collapse is currently underway.
