Three labourers died after inhaling poisonous gases while cleaning a septic tank in Govandi on Monday morning. The Govandi police arrested the building's committee treasurer Pawan Palav, 40, under section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Committee members of Morya CHS, in Ganeshwadi, Govandi Eeast had told Biswajit Devnath, 30, a plumber to bring some helpers to clean the choked septic tank located at the entrance of the building. Biswajit brought two people with him on Monday morning.

Around 11.30 am, one of the labourers went inside the tank after leaving the lid open for 10 minutes. "When the other labourer called out to him, there was no response. When the second labourer went inside to check, he, too, got stuck. When both remained unresponsive, Biswajit went down himself to check," an officer from Govandi police station said. Ram Shivaji Gaikwad, the security guard at the building, soon realised that all three men were missing. He immediately informed the residents, who alerted the Govandi police station, which is 100 metres from the building. "We immediately called the Fire Bridge. The bodies had to be fished out with hooks and sticks," said a police officer. Apart from Biswajit, the other two men have been identified as Govind Choritia, 34, and Santosh Kalsekar, 45, both residents of Kurla.