RWA president arrested in Noida over woman’s death in lift accident, gets bail

Col Ramesh Gautam said the apartment owners association AOA was being made a scapegoat in the lift accident that led to the death of a 73-year-old woman

NOIDA: The Gautam Budh Nagar police has arrested Paras Tierea Apartment Owners Association (AOA) president Colonel Ramesh Gautam (retd) in connection with the death of a 73-year-old woman due to a malfunction in the apartment complex’s elevator, police said on Wednesday.

Noida: Police arrested Paras Tierea Apartment Owners Association president Col Ramesh Gautam (retd) for death of a woman due to lift malfunction on August 3 evening (HT Photo/Sunil Ghosh)

Gautam was arrested on Tuesday, produced before a magistrate and released on bail hours later, said Vineet Rana, station house officer of Sector 142 police station.

Gautam was among the eight people named in the first information report (FIR) filed by the police on a complaint by the woman’s son, Devesh Kumar.

Rajeev Dixit, additional deputy commissioner of police, Central Noida, said the FIR was registered against three officials of the lift maintenance agency, four AOA members and the lift manufacturing company.

Gautam was the first person to be arrested in this case. There was no word on the precise allegation of negligence against him.

“On the night of the incident, Gautam’s health deteriorated following a commotion at the society over the woman’s death. Since then, he was admitted at a private hospital for treatment hence he was not arrested by the police. On Tuesday evening after he was discharged from the hospital, police took him under custody and arrested him,” said Rana.

A day after the accident, Noida authority chief executive officer Lokesh M stressed that the authority did not have a role to play. “The responsibility in this case lies with the AOA that takes care of the society maintenance under the Uttar Pradesh Apartment Act, 2010, as the building is old and handed over to apartment owners for maintenance,” he said on August 4.

Gautam said he will fight back. “The AOA is being made a scapegoat in this accident, but we will fight the case taking full legal recourse,” he said.