In a significant development, the Ghaziabad police have finally registered a First Information Report (FIR) against a house owner, months after a daily-wage labourer died while repairing a balcony. The action came only after the victim's widow approached the court, alleging police inaction in the case that dates back to July 2025.
Court Order Forces Police Action
The FIR was lodged on Monday against house owner Manish Saxena, following a direct order from the court last week. The case has been registered under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), pertaining to causing death by negligence. The tragic incident occurred on July 15, 2025, at flat B-153 in Shalimar Garden, Ghaziabad.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Nimish Patil confirmed the registration of the FIR. Responding to allegations of police delay, DCP Patil stated that if any involvement or negligence by a police officer is found in the matter, appropriate action would be taken.
A Widow's Fight for Justice
The application that led to the court order was filed by Rekha Gautam, the wife of the victim, Sumit, who was originally from Kanpur. Expressing her frustration with the initial police response, Rekha said, "I submitted the complaint to the station in-charge of Shalimar Garden and senior police officers, but no hearing took place. Therefore, I moved to court for justice."
In her detailed complaint, Rekha narrated the events of that fateful day. Her husband Sumit and his brother-in-law, Deshraj, were waiting for work at Labour Chowk in Ghaziabad's Rajendra Nagar Industrial Area when Manish Saxena approached them. He took both men to his flat to demolish and repair a dilapidated balcony.
The Fatal Negligence
Rekha's complaint alleges that upon seeing the precarious condition of the balcony (chajja), Sumit asked for safety tools. Instead of providing them, Saxena allegedly pressured and threatened both Sumit and Deshraj to proceed without any safety equipment. Out of fear, Sumit climbed onto the third-floor balcony to begin the work.
Tragedy struck at around 10:30 am on July 15. As soon as Sumit started demolishing the structure, the entire balcony crumbled and collapsed. Sumit fell from the third floor along with the debris and died on the spot. Deshraj rushed him to Shreya Hospital in Shalimar Garden, where doctors declared him dead.
Rekha further alleged that after the police sent the body for autopsy, Manish Saxena managed to get signatures on blank papers from the grieving family by threatening them. She emphasized that her husband was the sole earner for the family and lost his life due to the owner's negligence. "Even after considerable time had passed, the case could not be registered," she lamented, highlighting the long delay before the court's intervention.
The case underscores the vulnerabilities faced by daily-wage workers and the legal battles families often must endure to seek accountability in cases of fatal negligence.
