Sakinaka Police Book Contractor After 55-Year-Old Dies In Open Manhole
The Sakinaka police on Friday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against a contractor and three labourers after a 55-year-old man died after falling into an open, unbarricaded manhole on Khairani Road in Sakinaka during heavy rain. The victim, identified as Aslam Isak Shaikh, was a resident of Yadav Nagar in Sakinaka.
Shaikh was returning home from work on Wednesday evening when he allegedly slipped into the uncovered manhole. Following the incident, the police detained the three labourers for questioning, while a search is underway for the contractor, who is currently absconding.
Senior Inspector Avinash Mandle of the Sakinaka police station stated that multiple police teams have been deployed to trace the contractor. Mandle added that more persons could be named as the investigation progresses.
The case has been registered under Sections 106(1) (causing death by a rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
CCTV footage from a nearby hotel, which was accessed by the police, purportedly shows civic workers carrying out work at the Khairani Road site without installing any barricades or warning signs. This was in direct violation of prescribed safety norms. The footage also showed Shaikh talking on his mobile phone moments before the accident occurred.
Workers at the site immediately lowered a ladder into the manhole in an attempt to rescue him. However, strong water currents inside the drain hampered the search, and workers were initially only able to recover his umbrella and slippers.
A joint search operation was subsequently launched by the Mumbai Fire Brigade and other emergency agencies. The search teams traced Shaikh’s body in a stormwater drain near SJ Studio in Sakinaka at around 1 p.m. on Thursday. Shaikh was taken to Rajawadi Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
The tragedy has raised fresh concerns over civic safety during the monsoon, coming less than 48 hours after an 11-year-old boy was killed when a tree collapsed on a school bus in Chembur.
