Developer booked after piling crane crashes into Prabhadevi building

The crane was being used at a construction site adjacent to the housing society, and the developer, contractor and other functionaries have been booked for negligence, police said

MUMBAI: At least one flat in the Udayan Darshan Co-operative Housing Society in Dadar West was damaged when a piling crane crashed into the building on Tuesday evening. The crane was being used at a construction site adjacent to the housing society, and the developer, contractor and other functionaries have been booked for negligence, police said.

At least one flat in the Udayan Darshan Co-operative Housing Society in Dadar West was damaged when a piling crane crashed into the building (Raju Shinde/ HT Photo)

“Around 4pm on Tuesday, residents heard a huge thud and thought it was an earthquake. Later, they realised that a crane had come crashing down, bringing down parts of some walls and windows,” a police officer familiar with the matter told Hindustan Times.

The crash damaged the bedroom window of the fourth floor flat, as well as the bed and curtains, with the total loss estimated at ₹20 lakh, he said.

Although no one was injured in the incident, the building, located on Prabhadevi Road, had developed cracks due to the impact of the crash, Harpit Singh, secretary of the housing society, told police.

“Only a structural auditor can ascertain the extent of damage,” Singh said.

On Tuesday evening, the Dadar police registered a first information report (FIR) based on a complaint from a member of the housing society. Those named as accused in the FIR include Jitendra Jain from Incline Estate Properties LLP, the developer, contractors Majid Khan and Chandan Hulawale, project engineer Amit Sanghvi, project manager Priyanka Rodrigues, piling crane operator Mohammad Tausif Mohammad Wasim and his helper identified only as Ashfaq.

All the accused have been booked under sections 125 (rash or negligent act endangering human life or the personal safety of others), 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings, etc.) and 324 (mischief) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

According to the FIR, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had earlier issued a stop work notice to the developer after members of the housing society complained about lack of adequate safety measures at the site.

“When the no objection certificate for construction was issued, the developer was asked to take adequate precautions to ensure that the dust does not trouble neighbors and work is not undertaken at night. But neither have safety nets been installed, nor has any other care been taken,” said the police officer quoted earlier.