Tree crushes 45-year-old Mumbai resident, police pay for her funeral
An amount of Rs17,000 was collected so the family members could repay the loan they had taken to perform the funerary rites.
A week after the funeral of a Chembur resident who was crushed to death by a 40-feet Gulmohar tree, the officers and staff members at Govandi police station pooled in money to pay her family members for the funerary rites. Senior police inspector, Shashikant Mane, and his staff visited the family’s residence in Chembur on Friday morning to hand over the money.
Shahji Umap, deputy commissioner, zone 6, said, “This was done after we learnt that her children had taken a loan of Rs15,000 to perform the last rites. An amount of Rs17,000 was collected so the family members could repay the loan.”
According to eyewitnesses, Sharada Ghodeshwar, 45, was waiting at a bus stop when the incident took place on December 7. Passers-by rushed her to Shatabdi hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival. She is survived by her 65-year-old mother, two sons, and a daughter.
The police had filed an accidental death report after the incident, and investigations are underway to determine whether or not there was any negligence on the part of the authorities. They have sought expert opinion to ascertain the cause for the fall of the tree, and are going through records to check if there had been complaints registered against the maintenance of the tree. The possibility that the fall was a natural event is also being considered, given that the fall came a few days after the city witnessed heavy rains due to cyclone Ockhi.