The four men had fallen from a crane. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

On Monday morning, Sonu Balia told his colleague about his plans to take a break for Diwali, after having worked 12-hour shifts for the last seven months. The two maintenance staffers at the DDA construction site, managed by BG Shirke Construction Pvt Ltd, then punched in for the day, with no inkling of the fate that awaited them.

Later that day, Balia, Sonu Naushad, Raj Kumar and service engineer Pramod fell to their deaths as the lifting cage they were standing on malfunctioned. Outside Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital’s mortuary, their families spoke of how three of the men were supposed to get married in the coming month.

Baliya’s sister Kamlavati, who stays in Delhi’s Moti Nagar, said, “We informed the village elders back in UP, but our parents still don’t know about his death. Our elder sister is going to get married, and Sonu’s marriage was also fixed. He left his BA course in UP to work at the site.”

In the morning, two uncles of Sonu Naushad turned up with 20-odd crane operators at the mortuary. Both his uncle and brother work at different sections of the construction site.

Naushad’s family was working on a different site when they were informed about the accident. They found the wreckage of the lifting cage, but the bodies had been removed by then. Police said hospital authorities had informed them about the accident.

“I am also a crane operator; my nephew was supposed to help elevate the crane. It is dangerous work operating at such heights,” his uncle Arjit said.

When some crane operators claimed they were given steel plate safety boots, a safety belt and a helmet, Naushad’s uncle said, “Do you have a safety belt that locks automatically, a rope or even a safety net below? Then what safety are you talking about?”

Relatives of one of the victims at the mortuary, Tuesday. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

Pramod, who was the supervising engineer, was not a part of BG Shirke, but was sent by another company, Everest Engineering, police said.

An official from the company claimed he was a “rigger working at the site, and was the only one with technical know-how to operate the crane at the time”.

Pramod’s family said that four days ago, he was shown photographs of a woman for marriage. He was supposed to visit her on Diwali.

His brother, Vinod, broke down outside the mortuary as officials from his company gathered around to hug the man. “There are three other deaths. It’s not just your family. Show some resolve,” an official said.

The investigating officer in the case asked his name, but Vinod choked with emotion, unable to reply. The officer then asked his profession, and Vinod replied, “I am also a labourer, sir.”