4 months after boy’s death in lift shaft, 3 society officials booked for negligence

The accused have been identified as society chairman Taufiq Asfaq Khan, 52, secretary Asif Mansur Khan, 50, and treasurer Mola Usen Patel, 60, of Shamim Tower Kurla Kadam Co-operative Housing Society

Mumbai: Nearly four months after an 11-year-old boy died after falling into a lift shaft at a residential building in Kurla East, the Nehru Nagar police have booked three office-bearers of the housing society for alleged negligence. The FIR alleges that they failed to ensure proper maintenance and repairs of the lift, which an engineer had reportedly found to be unfit.

The accused have been identified as society chairman Taufiq Asfaq Khan, 52, secretary Asif Mansur Khan, 50, and treasurer Mola Usen Patel, 60, of Shamim Tower Kurla Kadam Co-operative Housing Society. The case was registered on Saturday under Sections 106(1), 125, 289 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The incident occurred around 9.30pm on July 6, 2026, at Building 2, B Wing, of Shamim Tower in Jagriti Nagar, Kurla East. According to the FIR, Zain Tehsildar was playing with other children in the passage on the 10th floor when the lift door allegedly opened suddenly. He lost his balance and fell into the lift shaft, landing on the roof of the lift cabin, which was on the third floor.

Zain sustained critical injuries. His father, Jamir Shaukat Tahsildar, 32, who runs a readymade garments business, was in Chembur when his wife, Fazila, 27, informed him about the accident. He contacted his father-in-law, Yusuf Khan Pathan, and rushed to arrange medical assistance.

Residents and family members, with the help of Irfan Khan, who supplied water to the society, retrieved the boy from the lift area. He was taken to Sion Hospital, where doctors declared him dead at around 10.40pm.

During the police inquiry, an engineer submitted a report stating that the lift was allegedly “unfit”. The police subsequently examined the evidence and recorded the father’s detailed complaint before booking the three society office-bearers.

“Based on the report that we received, we have booked the society management,” a Nehru Nagar police officer said.