4-year-old girl injured after falling off sixth floor balcony

he MIDC police have booked five people, including the builder, contractor and the building secretary for negligence. The incident happened when the girl’s grandfather was discussing the safety issues with the building committee. The girl is undergoing treatment at Holy Spirit Hospital

MUMBAI: A four-year-old girl was severely injured after she fell off the balcony of the sixth floor of a high-rise in Andheri East on Tuesday as the housing society had removed protective glass panels from the balcony for renovation.

Mumbai, India - May 10, 2023: A general view of Hillcrest Apartment, JVLR, Andheri (East), in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

The MIDC police have booked five people, including the builder, contractor and the building secretary for negligence. The incident happened when the girl’s grandfather was discussing the safety issues with the building committee. The girl is undergoing treatment at Holy Spirit Hospital.

According to the complaint filed by the girl’s father, Kumar Saurabh Prasad, the contractor who had taken up the work did not put any cover or mesh after taking down the glass panel in Hillcrest Apartments on Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road. He also alleged that despite asking the society authorities to inform the families in advance about the renovation schedule, they were told about the works just an hour or so before undertaking the work.

Prasad and his wife Divya Jain were both at work on Tuesday when their daughter was at home with Divya’s parents. “At around 5pm after work, I saw missed calls from the building chairman. When I called him back, I was told that the renovation work will start right away and they need my permission to remove the glass panel in our balcony,” Prasad said.

“On reaching the hospital, my father-in-law told me that he had gone downstairs to talk to the guards about the absence of safety precautions on the balcony. He told me the contractor had put some tapes on a couple of balconies but had left other balconies with no safety panels,” Prasad said. The panels were to be put in the next day.

Prasad later approached the MIDC police to report the incident. Satish Gaikwad, Senior inspector, said that they have booked the builder, contractor, supervisor, one labourer and the chairman of the building committee for negligent act. “The statements of all the accused are being recorded and further investigation is underway,” he said.