Police grill service lift contractor

The police on Tuesday questioned the contractor of the service lift at La Sonarisa building in Matunga that came crashing down earlier this week killing six persons.

The police on Tuesday questioned the contractor of the service lift at La Sonarisa building in Matunga that came crashing down earlier this week killing six persons.

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Sunil Deshmukh, senior inspector, Matunga, said: "We questioned Bipin Singhani, the lift contractor, who has been named as one of the accused in the case. We are investigating if there was any negligence on his part that led to the accident. We have not arrested him yet."

Investigating officer Pramod Koparde said, "According to the information we received, Singhani had installed the lift in 2005. Also, the maintenance period given by him for the lift was over. If this is true, there is a possibility that Singhani's name may be dropped from the list of accused."

The Matunga police, however, claimed that they were facing difficulty in investigating the case as the lifts department and the public works department (PWD) kept passing the buck.

An officer said on condition of anonymity: "When we approach the lifts department they claimed that their work was limited to passenger lifts and we should approach the PWD. When we approach them, we were told to contact the lift department. This is delaying the investigation."

The police are also taking the statements of 32 other labourers who were working in the building. They have written to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) and PWD to find out who was responsible for the maintenance of the service lift.