Punjabi Ghasitaram Halwai’s MD charge-sheeted with two others

According to the police, the accused hired the 15-year-old boy from Madhya Pradesh to work in their manufacturing unit on Jasmine Mill Road in Mahim East. The boy died on February 10 after getting stuck in a lift that was purportedly installed in the factory without prior permission

MUMBAI: The Shahu Nagar police have charge-sheeted the managing director of Punjabi Ghasitaram Halwai Pvt Ltd and two labour contractors in connection with the death of a 15-year-old boy in a lift mishap at the firm’s factory in Mahim in February. The accused are scheduled to appear before the Sewri sessions court on July 25, said a police officer.

Mumbai, India. Mar 22,2024: A 15 year child labour died on the spot after he stuck in lift at Ghasitaram food plant at Shahu Nagar, Mahim in Mumbai. Mar 22,2024. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

According to the police, the accused hired the 15-year-old boy from Madhya Pradesh to work in their manufacturing unit on Jasmine Mill Road in Mahim East. The boy died on February 10 after getting stuck in a lift that was purportedly installed in the factory without prior permission. His family was not informed, nor was any proper information given to Sion Hospital, where the minor was taken for treatment after the incident.

In March, the police had booked Kunal Vippan Bajaj, managing director of Punjabi Ghasitaram Halwai, and Udaybhaan Singh, the manager of the company’s sweets manufacturing unit. Labour contractors Ramzan Khan and Sushil Shelote were also booked for hiring the minor.

“We have filed a charge sheet in the matter against three accused – Khan, Shelote and Bajaj – under sections 304, Part II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 34 (common intention) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code; sections 75 (cruelty to minor), 79 (exploitation of a child employee), 87 (abetment) of the Juvenile Justice Act; and relevant sections of the Factories Act,” said a police officer.

The Sewri sessions court has directed the authorities to produce Khan, who is out on bail, and Shelote, who is in judicial custody, before it on July 25. The police said Bajaj’s statement was recorded earlier, based on which he was charge-sheeted. It isn’t clear why Singh is not part of the charge sheet.

In April, the sessions court had rejected Bajaj’s anticipatory bail application, observing that the company’s managing director was prima facie responsible for erecting the lift without the requisite permissions. The court said Bajaj could not disown the act to escape the consequences of the accident.