Probe into deaths of 7 workers in Runwal building finds lift had a private licence and not from govt dept
Cops inspecting the collapsed lift. File pic/PTI
The chief electrical inspector of lifts in Chembur had not granted approval to the lift in the 40-storey Runwal Eirene building, which claimed the lives of seven labourers on September 11. A report will be submitted to the Kapurbawdi police station in the coming days.
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On September 11, a lift crashed to the ground from the 40th floor in the under-construction building in Thane. An FIR was registered against unidentified individuals under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
But, even 29 days later, the Kapurbawdi police have not taken any action against the “lift contractor” and “labour contractor” as they await technical reports.
Sources within the chief electrical inspector, industries energy and labour department revealed that the builder had subcontracted the work to a third party, which exploited “loopholes” in the law, allowing an individual to grant a licence for the lift. “In many cases, lifts in industrial areas exploit these legal loopholes and obtain approval from an individual authority, leading to safety hazards,” a source said.
“The licence for the lift involved in the mishap was issued by a private entity, not by us,” said sources, declining to disclose specific names.
A private entity based in Airoli had certified approval for a passenger and material unit lift, stating, “We certify that on August 18, 2023, we thoroughly examined the hoist, lift, lifting machine, ropes and lifting tackle, and details of the examination/test carried out are enclosed herewith, confirming that the above is a correct report of the results.”
The approval document, accessed by mid-day, mentions that the person authorising the lift was recognised as a competent person by the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health. The FIR continues to name ‘labour contractor’ and ‘lift contractor’ and does not name anyone specifically as police await reports, with the FIR revealing that the lift had been malfunctioning for the past three months, and labourers had requested a different lift.
mid-day had reported on how the families of the labourers who died in were threatened to accept compensation of R10 lakh and close the matter.
Sept 11
Day of the accident
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