Two workers die after falling off buildings, contractors booked

MUMBAI: A construction worker and a painter died in two separate incidents the city on Tuesday when they fell off from under-construction buildings where they were employed on contract basis. The contractors have been booked for causing death by negligence in both cases, as they allegedly did not provide any safety equipment to the workers.
In the first incident, Deepak Rajbhar, a 23-year-old worker from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh died in Matunga when he fell off from the 28th floor of an under-construction building along BA Road. The incident occurred around 3:30pm on Tuesday when Rajbhar was handing over building material to another labourer.
Rajbhar was standing on an iron grill which was not secured to the wall properly, said eye witnesses. When the grill came off, he fell to the 24th floor, hitting his head and leg on a parapet wall and sustaining severe injuries. He was rushed to Sion Hospital where he was declared brought dead.
Deepak’s father Rajesh Rajbhar, 53 – an electrician who lives in Azamgarh – reached Mumbai on Wednesday morning after being informed of the incident. He had spoken to Deepak on the phone around two hours prior to the mishap while he was having lunch, he told the police.
“My son was not provided with any type of safety gear while working at the construction site. He died due to the negligence of contractor,” he said. Based on his statement, the Matunga police have booked the contractor and the supervisor under section 106 (causing death of any person by doing any negligent act) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
In the second incident, 40-year-old Hawiur Rahman Majid Ali died after falling from the third floor of a building in Industrial Society in Adarsh Nagar, Worli while painting the outside wall.
A native of Bihar, Ali lived in Bandra with his family. A contractor had hired him two days prior to the incident, while he was waiting with a friend at a junction in Bandra, said his cousin Shafiq Islam, 32, who lives in Nalasopara and works in Santacruz.
On Tuesday, Ali and two other workers reported for work at building number 20 in Adarsh Nagar at around 9.30am. He was asked to paint the outer walls of the building on the third floor, but was not given any safety equipment, said eye witnesses.
At around 12.30pm, Ali lost his balance and fell from the scaffolding to the ground, sustaining severe injuries on his head, forehead, right eye and other parts of the body. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead.
The Dadar police have booked the contractor, Tushar Enterprises, under section 106 (causing death of any person by doing any negligent act) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, based on a statement by Islam.