Two labourers died in construction sites, contractors face negligence charges

Two daily-wage labourers in Mumbai died in separate incidents at under-construction buildings in Khar and Borivali East. Contractors have been booked for negligence. One worker fell while carrying blocks and the other was electrocuted.

Mumbai: In two separate incidents, two daily-wage labourers lost their lives in an under-construction building in Khar and Borivali East. One of the two workers had fallen while carrying blocks and was declared dead on Saturday. The second incident, which took place on Friday, involved another labourer who suffered electrocution. The Khar and Kasturba Marg police booked contractors for negligence.

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The first incident involved a 16-year-old boy, Sahil Shaikh, working on the fourth floor of the Ganesh Darshan building in Dattapada, Borivali East. Sahil fell while carrying blocks and was declared dead at Shatabdi Hospital on Saturday. Sahil’s elder brother, Shakil, revealed that due to financial constraints, he had introduced Sahil to the labour contractor, claiming he was 18 years old. The incident occurred on Friday at 12:30pm, and with immediate efforts by Shakil and fellow labourers Sahil was rushed to the hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries in the ICU.

The police have booked three individuals, including the labour contractor and building contractor, identified as Sandeep Favre, Jahangir Shaikh, and Jagdish Shyam Patel, for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under sections 304 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

In the second incident, a 20-year-old labourer, Jamir Alam, working for SK Engineering Company, was electrocuted at a construction site in Khar on Friday. Alam suffered an electric shock at the under-construction site of Suraj Prakash Building and was declared dead upon reaching Bhabha Hospital. Alam’s uncle, Mohammed Amir Sersawadi, claimed that the SK company’s owner and supervisors, Shadab Khan, Aftab Khan, and Munawar Khan, failed to provide safety gear, leading to his nephew’s death.

The Khar police have registered a case under section 304 (a) of the Indian Penal Code for death due to negligence and are investigating the matter.