They claim the nullah, which is being repaired, was not barricaded properly; police say the Ghatkopar resident was drunk when he fell.
Ankush Gadge
A 44-year-old resident of Ghatkopar died when he fell into a nullah next to the LBS Road on Thursday night. While his family has blamed the BMC contractor, who hasn't put barricaded the nullah properly for negligence, the police claim Ankush Gadge was drunk.
On Friday morning, the family of Gadge, residents of Parshiwadi, went to Ghatkopar police station, saying he hadn't returned home on Thursday night. They said he had gone out for some work, but was not answering his phone. While they were giving details about him, the police received a message about a body found in Mukund nullah. As the description of the body matched Gadge, the police asked his family to go to the site to identify it. They identified him. In the post mortem it was found that he had died of head injuries. Gadge, who worked in a marketing firm, is survived by his wife and two kids.
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Locals claimed Mukund nullah is not properly covered
Nullah not barricaded
Kailash Koimale, a relative of Gadge, said, "The nullah in which Ankush died has been under repair for many months. The contractor has only put up metal sheets across it. It is the BMC and contractor's fault that this happened. The police must book them for negligence." Jagdish Erande, a neighbour of Gadge said, "The nullah is not properly covered so it is dangerous for pedestrians. Also, the repair work is on. There are no lights on the road which makes it difficult to walk at night."
Locals claimed Ankush Gadge worked with a marketing firm
The Ghatkopar police have registered an Accidental Death Report in the matter and will lodge an offence if any negligence is reported during investigation.
"Prima facie it doesn't look like negligence, as the deceased was under the influence of alcohol and fell. We found bottles of alcohol in his pockets. We are investigating the matter," said Kusum Waghmare, Senior Inspector of Ghatkopar police station.
N ward officer Bhagyashree Kapse was unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts to contact her.
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