A 48-year-old police constable, Santosh Chavan, attached to the Nehru Nagar police station, lost his life after a heavy excavator drilling crane toppled onto his motorcycle at an under-construction flyover site on the Sion-Panvel Highway in Mankhurd on Tuesday night.
FIR Filed Against Contractor
The Mankhurd police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the private contractor appointed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and associated personnel on charges of alleged negligence and recklessness.
A senior BMC official stated, "The incident occurred when a piling RIG machine, deployed at the GMLR flyover work site at Maharashtra Nagar, toppled while being shifted to another location within the same project. Appropriate action will be taken against the contractor." The BMC's deputy municipal commissioner (infrastructure) is conducting an inquiry into the incident and will submit a report, the official added.
Second Fatal Incident This Year
This marks the second fatal incident at an infrastructure worksite in Mumbai this year. On February 14, a concrete parapet segment of the under-construction elevated Metro Line 4 (Wadala–Kasarvadavali) viaduct fell onto an autorickshaw and a car on LBS Road in Mulund West, resulting in the death of a 50-year-old man and injuries to three others.
In Tuesday's incident, the crane, weighing approximately 200 tonnes, fell onto the northbound carriageway of the Sion-Panvel Highway. Vehicular movement between Chembur and Vashi, including the Mankhurd Link Road, was severely impacted throughout Wednesday. Motorists reported delays of around two hours.
Police were able to remove the toppled crane around 9 PM on Wednesday, but supporting cranes remained on the road, obstructing traffic. Authorities indicated that traffic flow would resume late at night.
Details of the Accident
According to police, Constable Chavan, who was on deputation at the East Region Office, was riding home to Nerul after work when the crane at the worksite near Tata Power House fell onto the road around 9:45 PM. Parts of the crane struck him, causing him to collapse on the spot.
Passersby and motorists rushed Chavan to MGM Hospital in Vashi, where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment.
Legal Action
Based on a complaint lodged by Chavan's brother, an assistant sub-inspector posted at Parksite police station, the Mankhurd police registered a case against officials from SFAR Infratech—including owner Rehan Mohammad Aslam Malik, engineer Ranjan Kumar Shukla, and site supervisor Shahir Mukhtar Shaikh—as well as personnel from Lifting and Lashing Solution India, including owner Mohammad Saud Haider Ali Chaudhary, engineer Salman Imran Khan, machine operator Sudipta Dayal Pramanik, and helper Riju Shridhar Biswas, among others.
Constable Chavan is survived by his wife, son, and daughter.
