Dr Ravindra Diddee (70), a Mumbai dentist was driving down SV Road towards Mahim on October 1. As soon as he passed under the Bandra West skywalk around 5.30 pm, a portion of the underside of the bridge gave way, and a metal panel, measuring 8X3 ft, crashed onto his car. It smashed the SUV’s windscreen and side-view mirror, denting the car roof.

Worse was the initial response of the authorities, when asked about the accident. The MMRDA and BMC passed the buck over the maintenance of the skywalk, while the Bandra police said they knew the tin panel had fallen on a vehicle but that it was ‘fortunate’ that no one was injured. A Bandra fire officer stated that a panel of the skywalk ‘may’ have been loosened by drug addicts intending to sell it for scrap.