Malad school lift mishap: Elevator maintenance contractor booked for negligence

The teacher pressed the button of the elevator to call it on the sixth floor, the lift arrived and the automatic sensor of the door forced it open, she reluctantly stepped inside the lift cabin. Although the door sensor was working, due to the wear and tear of the wires, before the door could close, the lift started the upward movement as someone must have pressed the bottom on the seventh floor dragging Fernandes upwards

Mumbai: A fortnight after a 26-year-old teacher was killed in an elevator mishap at a Malad school, the police have registered a case of causing death by negligence against the lift maintenance agency for failing to maintain the school elevator.

Gloved hand pressing an elevator button to prevent coronavirus contamination (rawpixel.com / roungroat)

Ravi Adane, the senior police inspector of Malad police station, said the owner of the Classic Elevators based in Thane has been booked under section 304 (A) of the Indian Penal Code after an inspection report of the lift was submitted by the energy department.

According to the report, the wires of the lift had gone through wear and tear due to which the system of the downward collective lift did not wait for the door to be closed and started upward movement even though the door sensors were working.

The Malad police are yet to arrest the owner of the Classic Elevators as their contract clearly stated that they would maintain the lifts every 30 days. “The last maintenance according to the company logs was done in June 2022. The company officials in their statement said that they had done the maintenance but had not kept a record,” said Adane.

The victim, Jenel Fernandes, was a young teacher who married just a year ago and was eager to finish work and rush home on September 16 when the accident took place. Fernandes, who worked as an assistant teacher at St Mary’s English School in Malad West, had finished a class on the sixth floor of the school, around 1pm, and was headed to the staff room on the second floor before going to the next class.

The teacher pressed the button of the elevator to call it on the sixth floor, the lift arrived and the automatic sensor of the door forced it open, she reluctantly stepped inside the lift cabin. Although the door sensor was working, due to the wear and tear of the wires, before the door could close, the lift started the upward movement as someone must have pressed the bottom on the seventh floor dragging Fernandes upwards.

Police officials said her cries for help alerted the clearing staff who rushed to her help. She was seriously injured and was taken to Lifeline Hospital, where doctors declared her dead before admission. The officials said that if the wires were checked and changed in time, the mishap could have been averted.