Mumbai man dies after fifth-floor window shutter falls, crushes him in SoBo

A 32-year-old insurance agent was killed after the shutters of a window, from the fifth floor of a south Mumbai building, came crashing down on him.

A 32-year-old insurance agent was killed after the shutters of a window, from the fifth floor of a south Mumbai building, came crashing down on him.

The police have filed a case against a contractor carrying out maintenance work inside Darabshaw House. (Kunal Patil/HT Photo)

Sunil Harishchandra Gavkar, a resident of Goregaon, was walking past the Darabshaw House in Ballard Estate on Thursday afternoon while doing his routine rounds to collect insurance cheques from offices in the area. The police said Gavkar was crushed by the weight of the heritage building’s window shutter.

“Gavkar got off a BEST bus near the Asiatic Library, and walked towards Ballard Estate. He was about to walk left from the Darabshaw building when the loose shutter fell on him,” said Sanjay Kamble, senior police inspector, MRA Marg police station.

The accident took place around 3.30pm, and the building’s security guard alerted the area’s police beat marshals soon after. “The officers took Gavkar to the nearby St George hospital, but he died of his injuries a few hours later,” Kamble said .

The police have registered a case against a contractor who was employed by the Darabshaw House to carry out maintenance work.

However, the police withheld the contractor’s identity and are yet to arrest him, as they want to first go through the terms of his contract with the building’s owner.

Gavkar’s older brother, Yogesh Gavkar, asked the police to file a complaint against authorities responsible for maintaining the heritage building.