Mumbai: Tribal woman dies at construction site, owner bribes family into silence

The illegal construction site where the 22-year-old tribal woman died. Pics/Hanif Patel

A woman labourer, 22, lost her life while working at a construction site in Naigaon East. According to the police, the construction work was taking place illegally, and the contractor and the owner of the plot, hence, did not report it to the authorities and in a bid to hush up the matter, they silently cremated the body in a village in Dahanu using kerosene oil and tyres.

An officer said that the accused also paid Rs 4 lakh in bribes to the family of the deceased, asking them to remain tight-lipped. The deceased has been identified as Ruksana Mahesh Lahange, a tribal woman from Nimbapur Gibhalpada, Bapugaon in the Dahanu taluka of Palghar district. The incident took place on Friday (October 4) afternoon.

The incident took place on Friday (October 4) afternoon

According to the police, suo motu action was taken as the father of the deceased was not willing to register a first information report (FIR) because he had been given money to remain silent. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Pournima Chougule Shringi said that they began investigating the matter, and a FIR was filed soon after the police learned about the incident. The individuals named in the FIR are Dinesh Jain, 58; his son Nitish Jain, 33; Kannan Moni, 40; Faraz Amir Khan, 32; Pradeep Gupta, and others.

"We have arrested four accused - Dinesh, Nitish, Kannan and Farz - and the search for the absconding accused is underway," DCP Shringi said. The FIR is registered under sections 105 (culpable homicide that is not considered murder), 238 (destroying evidence or providing false information) and 3(5) (criminal act committed by multiple people with a common intention) of the BNS.

The deceased woman has been identified as Ruksana Mahesh Lahange

"After the woman died at the construction site, these accused should have informed the police so that we could have completed the legal process. She was not even taken to a hospital to be declared dead by a doctor. Instead, they cremated the body hours after the incident," the DCP said.

"The deceased was a tribal woman from a village in Dahanu taluka, but she had been working in a plastic factory adjacent to the plot where construction work was going on. The plot is spread across 50,000 sq ft, and this construction work was absolutely illegal. We have written to Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation officials to raze the structure completely," the DCP added.

Police took suo motu cognisance based on complaint filed by Shiv Sena leader Nilesh Tendulkar (in white kurta sporting a tilak)

Naigaon police senior inspector Ramesh Bhame said that the investigating team has recovered a few pieces of bones from Lahange's village in Dahanu where she was cremated. "These bones will be sent for forensic analysis for further course of action," said Bhame.

mid-day has learned that the incident took place as no safety gear was provided to the workers at the construction site and that over a half dozen people, including a father-son duo from Malad East, are responsible for this mishap.

The FIR and the arrest came following a complaint filed by the community with the help of Palghar district president of Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) Nilesh Tendulkar.

Accusing the police of not taking the action quickly, Tendulkar said that all the mafias are active in Vasai taluka because of their nexus with the police and administration.

"The illegal constructions are rampant in the Vasai, Virar, and Nalasopara areas, but the municipal corporation officials have turned a blind eye to these illegal works. Even local police also do not take any action despite receiving complaints against these mafias," Tendulkar said. "Today, their audacity is so high that they cremated the body without letting police know to conduct a post-mortem. There is total anarchy in Vasai taluka. The case must also be registered against the police officers as well as babus of the municipal corporation," Tendulkar added.

At the time of going to the press, a team of Naigaon police reached the accident site to conduct panchmana in this matter.

Oct 4
Day of the incident