Mumbai: A 42-year-old man, identified as Raju Davande, a resident of Nerul, Navi Mumbai, tragically lost his life after falling into a six-foot-deep pit dug by the BMC in Tilak Nagar, Chembur. An eyewitness said he was drunk.
The pit, which was left unbarricaded, police said, was filled with water. Davande’s body was found floating in it on Wednesday.
The Tilak Nagar police have registered an offence under Section 106(1) of the BNS against Z Construction, the contractor responsible for the project. Preliminary investigations revealed that the BMC awarded the contract for constructing a sewage line to Deepak Shevde of Z Construction. However, the contractor reportedly failed to take safety precautions, such as barricading the excavation site, which led to the accident.
Tilak Nagar police officials confirmed that Davande’s body was recovered and sent for a post-mortem examination at Rajawadi Hospital. The report is awaited to determine further details about the incident.
Authorities have also registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and are probing whether the contractor’s negligence was a recurring issue at other project sites. A senior officer stated, “Safety measures such as proper barricading and signage are mandatory, especially at construction sites in populated areas. Failure to adhere to these guidelines amounts to gross negligence.”
The BMC said that works of the Sewerage Operations Department were ongoing when the incident took place. “The area around the pit was barricaded, but yet the man fell into it and died. The matter is being further investigated,” said a civic official.
