Officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s P ward are now saying it was a water tank, not a septic tank inside a community toilet in Malad’s Ambujwadi in which three members of a family fell and died, likely of asphyxiation, on March 21. This change in the position came a few days after the relatives of the deceased filed an FIR against the civic body for neglecting the toilet’s structural issues, which the family alleges led to the death of their kin.

“It is a water tank only. It is still a matter of investigation but all the statements are pointing towards a water tank. Now the question is what led the three to suffocate, assuming that is the cause as the post-mortem report is pending. There will be an enquiry set up under the executive engineer as structural problems come under the BMC. We will be looking into the possibility of faecal matter passing through as well,” said Kiran Dighavkar, P North ward’s assistant commissioner.