The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has taken cognisance of the death of three Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) contract workers in Nigdi and issued show cause notice to senior officials including the Pimpri-Chinchwad police commissioner, Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal commissioner, Pune district collector, and general manager of BSNL.
Exercising its powers under Article 338 of the Constitution, the NCSC has launched an inquiry and directed these authorities to submit an action taken report (ATR). The show cause notice, dated August 18, states, “Failure to respond may lead to further legal action, including summons.”
The incident occurred at around 3 pm on August 15 near Nirmal Villa, plot number 64, sector 27/A in Nigdi Pradhikaran. According to initial reports, the three workers – Lakhan Asruba Dhavare, 35 and Dattatray Vijaykumar Honale, 35 (both residents of Chinchwad); and Sahebrao Sambhaji Girshete, 35 (a resident of Bijlinagar) – were carrying out underground maintenance work on a BSNL optic fibre duct when they allegedly died of suffocation. A fourth worker, Babasaheb Ambadas Wagh, 52, was present but did not enter the chamber. Seeing the danger, he raised an alarm and alerted emergency services.
The police investigation suggests that the men entered a 10 x 10-foot underground duct chamber filled with three feet of stagnant water. These chambers are located at intervals of about 180 metres along the optic fibre network. The tragedy unfolded when Girshete entered the chamber and reportedly experienced severe breathlessness, possibly due to toxic gases released upon opening the duct. Dhavare and Honale rushed in to help but collapsed as well. All three men were pulled out unconscious and rushed to Lokmanya Hospital in Nigdi, where doctors declared them dead on arrival.
{{/usCountry}}The police investigation suggests that the men entered a 10 x 10-foot underground duct chamber filled with three feet of stagnant water. These chambers are located at intervals of about 180 metres along the optic fibre network. The tragedy unfolded when Girshete entered the chamber and reportedly experienced severe breathlessness, possibly due to toxic gases released upon opening the duct. Dhavare and Honale rushed in to help but collapsed as well. All three men were pulled out unconscious and rushed to Lokmanya Hospital in Nigdi, where doctors declared them dead on arrival.
{{/usCountry}}The Nigdi police have registered an accidental death (AD) case. Legal and forensic probes are underway to establish the exact cause of death and to check for possible safety violations, officials said.