PUNE: A 26-year-old
construction worker died after she fell into the open elevator duct of an under-construction building in Kakadevasti in
Kondhwa at 7.30am on Sunday.
Vimla Ganesh Patre was walking to the second floor when she lost her balance and fell into the duct. Four families of workers, including Patre, live on the site.
The other workers rushed a critically injured Patre to a private hospital and then took her to Sassoon General Hospital where she died of multiple injuries, a postmortem report said. The hospital called the Kondhwa police around 4pm.
The open duct was not barricaded, investigations conducted by assistant inspector Chetan More said. A complaint of accidental death was registered on October 8 by the Kondhwa police.
On Wednesday, they booked builder Zaid Mohammad Sayyed (30) and contractor Ramzan Ismail Shaikh (20) under section 304 (a) (causing death due to negligence) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC. Both will be arrested soon.
Senior inspector Milind Gaikwad told TOI, “The victim’s husband Ganesh Dhanirao Patre told us that his wife fell from the first floor after climbing a few steps. An inspection of the spot and witnesses’ statements show that she fell into the duct from the second floor because of the builder’s and the contractor’s negligence.”
Sayyed told TOI, “The woman was not working at our construction site. The contractor had allowed her and some others to live in the building. The victim was unwell on October 7. Her sister took her to the washroom on the first floor and returned to the second floor to make breakfast. The victim climbed eight steps, lost her balance and fell into the duct. She died of severe injuries.”
He said they had covered the duct with plywood up to three floors. “We removed it for installing the elevator three days ago,” he added.
Shaikh said work had halted for three months over payment issues. “The woman fell into the duct because she was unwell. Her husband has given a statement to the police saying that the builder and contractor are not responsible for the accident.”
The victim’s husband was in Chattisgarh for the last rites.