Mercedes owner booked for causing death by negligence of two kids

The police registered the case after the forensic report revealed that the children had died due to asphyxia following carbon monoxide poisoning

MUMBAI: The Antop Hill police have booked the owner of the abandoned Mercedes in which two siblings died in April this year for causing death by negligence. The police registered the case after the forensic report revealed that the children had died due to asphyxia following carbon monoxide poisoning.

Mumbai, India. April 25, 2024: Two missing siblings, 7-year-old Sajit and 5-year-old Muskan, were found dead inside an abandoned car at CGS Colony ground in the Antop Hill area of Central Mumbai after being missing for several hours. April 25, 2024. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

The two siblings – 7-year-old Sajid Shaikh and 5-year-old Muskhan Shaikh – lived in CGS Colony in Sion Koliwada, in a residence allotted to their father Mohabbat Shaikh, who works as a helper in a central government office. They were reported missing on April 24, and the Antop Hill police had registered a kidnapping case as minors were involved. Later, the police found them lying unconscious in the abandoned Mercedes and rushed them to Sion Hospital, where they were declared dead.

“A postmortem was conducted on the bodies and prima facie, it was found that the kids had died due to suffocation. We have now got the detailed forensic analysis, which shows the cause of death was asphyxia due to suffocation following carbon monoxide poisoning,” said a police officer.

According to the police, the Mercedes in which the two children were found had been brought to Antop Hill by Raj Kumar Santosh Pandey, a local resident. He wanted to sell the car, but it broke down in 2017. He also got a scrap dealer to check the car recently, but it could not be started and was just lying near CGS colony.

“There was negligence on the part of Pandey who had brought the car for selling but had left it without locking the vehicle properly. This allowed the children to enter the car and led to their death,” said the police officer. Pandey has been booked under section 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code, the officer noted.

“The parents can’t be booked in such cases as allowing children to go out and play cannot be a negligent act. But abandoning a car, leaving it unattended, leaving the doors open which can lead to illegal activities or somebody’s death is a negligent act. The police have rightly booked the vehicle owner in this case,” said advocate Shreyans Mithare.