Samaypur Badli lift crash: Factory owner held as kin allege neglect

Police are investigating a lift collapse in Delhi that killed two workers, focusing on maintenance issues. The factory owner has been arrested for negligence.

Two days after a lift collapse killed two workers in northwest Delhi’s Samaypur Badli, police on Friday said they are probing the possibilities of poor maintenance and excessive weight inside the lift. Officers also said they will write to the government’s labour department, asking for an inspector to ascertain the exact cause and thereafter submit a report for further investigation.

The two workers were carrying goods in the lift when the cable snapped and it collapsed on Wednesday. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

The owner of the factory, Neha Verma, was booked under sections 106 (causing death by negligence) and 289 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery). She has been apprehended, deputy commissioner of police (north) Hareshwar Swami said on Friday.

“The factory has been sealed. Prima facie, it appears that poor maintenance of the elevator led to the mishap,” the DCP said.

According to police, Hariom Singh,32, and Sanjay Mishra,54, worked at a ceramic crockery manufacturing factory in Samaypur Badli. On Wednesday afternoon, they were carrying goods from the ground floor to higher floors when the cable of the lift snapped, causing it to hurtle down and crash, the DCP said.

On Friday, HT visited the five-storey factory and found its front and rear iron gates locked. People working in nearby factories said that nearly 35 workers worked at the unit. Family members of the two deceased alleged that the lift had some mechanical fault, about which the owner was informed some days ago.

“My brother and other workers had told the owner multiple times that there was a fault in the lift that was creating some weird sound. But the owner did not pay attention to their requests to get the elevator repaired. My brother died due to the owner’s negligence,” said Mishra’s 58-year-old brother, Ram Anek Mishra.

Another worker in the factory, Lal Bahadur, said he was working on the power press machine on the ground floor with some other workers, when around 3pm, the lift crashed with a loud sound. The FIR was registered on the basis of Bahadur’s statement.

“The impact of the crash was such that Hari Om and Sanjay Mishra were thrown out of the elevator. They were unconscious. We rushed them to the hospital, where the doctors declared them dead,” Bahadur added.

“The lift was repaired about five months ago as it made a similar sound. However, the noise continued after the repair and we had informed the owner about it. The mishap happened because the elevator was not repaired on time,” Bahadur mentioned in his statement.

Singh is survived by his wife and two children, said his nephew, adding that he was the sole earning member in the family.