Widely known for preventing several suicides, Chetan Kadam died in the act of saving lives

When the news of his passing reached his neighbours, residents of TP road in Parel, early in the morning, they all flocked to the BYL Nair Charitable Hospital at Mumbai Central. All those assembled outside the mortuary had a story to tell about Kadam going out of his way to help them or their family members. NCP members

Mumbai: Chetan Kadam (36), vice-president of the Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) youth wing, was doing his duty as a security supervisor at the Bandra-Worli Sea Link when he died in the horrific accident on the sea link in the early hours of Wednesday. In the course of his job, Kadam had helped prevent a number of suicides at the sea link for which he had received awards and much appreciation.

Widely known for preventing several suicides, Chetan Kadam died in the act of saving lives

When the news of his passing reached his neighbours, residents of TP road in Parel, early in the morning, they all flocked to the BYL Nair Charitable Hospital at Mumbai Central. All those assembled outside the mortuary had a story to tell about Kadam going out of his way to help them or their family members. NCP members, including NCP Youth Congress spokesperson Amol Matele, were also there to console the deceased’s family.

Kadam was the only earning member of his family, which comprised his mother, younger brother, pregnant wife and a four-year-old son. His brother Prasad used to work earlier but lost his job during the pandemic. “He was a very generous soul. If he saw anyone in need, financially or otherwise, he would help, even at the cost of depriving himself or disregarding his own needs,” said his uncle Dilip Shivagan. Added a neighbour Avinash Londhe: “Kadam saved so many lives. Ironically, he lost his own life while saving others’.”

Matele, who was at Nair Hospital to help Kadam’s family, said, “A case of culpable homicide needs to be registered against the driver as well as the company that hired Kadam and the other deceased. They were negligent, as they did not follow any safety protocols like providing safety kits like reflective jackets or adequate training to the staff.” Matele said his party would ensure that all the deceased got fair compensation from their employers as well as the government since they had died while in the line of duty.

The crowd gathered outside the mortuary was furious about what it perceived as the indifferent response of Kadam’s company to the accident, and refused to take the body home even after the post-mortem was done. “We were told by the Kadam family that he and his colleagues had not been paid their salary for the past two months. Nor did they get any insurance from their employers. They have been in touch with the company representatives all morning but have no clear answer on whether any compensation will be paid to the families,” said another neighbour Shridhar Bhambure.

When Sanjeev Jha, general manager of the Roadways Solutions India Infra Limited, came by to console the families, the crowd became aggressive. Jha had to be taken away by the hospital staff to avoid any untoward incident. However, Jha told HT that his company had taken over from Mumbai Entry Point on August 23, 2022. “The uncleared dues are those of the previous company, not ours. All our employees are insured for death on work, and their families will be awarded the relevant compensation,” he said.