28-year-old labourer dies as cement brick falls from under-construction building

28-year-old labourer Kamal Hassan Shaikh died in Mankhurd after a cement brick fell on his head from the 15th floor. Case registered under IPC 304A against construction site personnel.

Mumbai: A 28-year-old labourer, Kamal Hassan Shaikh, died on Monday when a cement brick fell on his head from the 15th floor of an under-construction building in Mankhurd. The Mankhurd police have registered a case under section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code against the contractor, supervisor, and safety inspector of the construction site.

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According to the police, Shaikh, a native of Murshidabad district in West Bengal, had been working as a labourer in Mumbai for the past few years along with his three cousin brothers. His cousin brother, Jamjam Shaikh, 25, who is a complainant in the case, said that they were working at the under-construction building in Mohite Patil Nagar in Mankhurd as labourers for the past three months.

The 23-storey building’s construction was ongoing, with slabs in place up to the 18th floor. The police reported that the wall construction on the 15th and 16th floors was partially completed, and cement bricks were placed on the floors for the ongoing work. Safety nets from the 3rd floor to the 17th floor were torn at several places, and workers had previously complained about the inadequate size and worn-out condition of the nets, as mentioned in the FIR.

The contractor allegedly did not address the safety concerns. On Monday, while Shaikh was drinking water on the ground floor, a cement brick fell directly on his head from the 15th floor. He suffered severe injuries and supervisor Chhotu Shaikh was alerted, he along with other labourers rushed him to the hospital where he was declared dead during treatment some time later, said a police officer.

Senior inspector Mahadev Koli of the Mankhurd police station said, “We have recorded the statement of the deceased’s cousin brother, and based on his statement FIR was registered against the company responsible for the construction, the owner of Modern Infrastructure, the supervisor, and the safety inspector of the site.”