Boy, 8, falls to death in unguarded SRA pit in Mumbai's Malad while fetching ball

Divyansh Maurya, a Class II student, had been missing since around 8 pm on Thursday. His body was later found in a pit.

An eight-year-old boy’s attempt to retrieve a ball ended in fatality after he fell into an unguarded 20-foot-deep water-filled pit at an SRA construction site in Malad’s Kurar Village, triggering outrage among residents and allegations of negligence against the developer.

An eight-year-old boy died after falling into a water-filled construction pit in Malad East on Thursday evening at (Satish Bate/Hindustan Times)

Divyansh Maurya, a Class II student, had been missing since around 8 pm on Thursday. His family, neighbours and the Kurar police searched frantically through the night before his father, Rajesh Maurya, found his body in the pit around 3 am on Friday.

He was rushed to Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali, where doctors declared him dead. The body was later sent to Siddharth Hospital in Goregaon for post-mortem.

Divyansh, the elder of two siblings, lived in the vicinity where his father runs a provision store near the Western Express Highway, close to Kurar Metro station.

Police have registered an FIR under section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for causing death by negligence against the site engineer and contractor of the project being executed by M/s Mauli Sai Developers Pvt Ltd. However, the grieving family has demanded that the builder, Sunil Baradkar, be directly named in the FIR.

“The pit was left completely open. No barricades, no safety sheets, nothing. We lost our child because of their negligence. We want strict action against the builder,” said the boy’s uncle, Rameshwar Maurya, adding that the family initially resisted post-mortem and cremation until action was assured.

CCTV footage from nearby shops, accessed by police, reportedly shows Divyansh trying twice to retrieve his ball from the water pit using a stick before losing balance and falling in.

The pit lies between an under-construction sale building and an SRA structure, with piling work underway nearby. The area, surrounded by partially demolished slums, is frequented by children who play in the bylanes.

“It’s a dead-end lane where kids often play. Everyone knows it as ‘bhoot galli’. This was really unexpected,” said a local resident.

Tensions escalated on Friday morning when residents spotted workers hurriedly installing tin sheets around the pit after the incident. Angry locals tore them down later in the day, alleging a cover-up.

Civic officials said the project falls under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), which has issued a 48-hour show-cause notice to the developer and the project architect, warning of a stop-work order.

The notice cited “gross negligence”, flagging the absence of barricading, safety personnel, restricted access, and warning signs, basic safeguards that could have prevented the tragedy.

An SRA official said the developer could face an FIR if found negligent. “Safety compliance is the responsibility of the developer and architect. Strict action will follow if lapses are confirmed,” the official said.