Construction site cement ruins luxury cars worth Rs 1 crore in Santacruz

The next time you park your car beside an under-construction structure, it may end up creating a hole not just in your car but also your pocket. Just ask the Nigams.

Cement from a construction site fell on the two luxury cars, breaking the windshield of the BMW and making several dents on the Audi

Yoginder Nigam and his son Rahul, owners of Metro Estate in Kalina, had parked their Audi A4 and BMW 520D (collectively worth a crore) outside their office in Santacruz (East). But little did they know that a freak accident would make them spend around Rs 9 lakh, inclusive of various charges and taxes, for repairing their high-end automobiles. The accident occurred on October 23 around 3 in the afternoon.

Raining gravel
Narrating the accident, Rahul said, "I was rushing for a meeting, but when I left the building I saw that people had surrounded my Audi and my father's BMW. When I went in for a closer look, I was shocked to see that cement mix used at the nearby construction site had fallen on our cars. It dented our cars and had shattered the rear windscreen of the BMW."

Rahul said they asked the construction company to settle the invoices generated (copies available with MiD DAY) by Audi and BMW for repairing their vehicles, as they were not interested in being paid directly. Yoginder even alleged that he was distressed by the fact that none of the officials from the construction company who visited them showed them their identity cards. He said they made a false promise of reimbursing them for the damages their vehicles had sustained in the accident.

While the concrete mix dented Rahul Nigam's Audi A4, it shattered the rear windscreen of his father Yoginder's BMW 520D

"A person who introduced himself as site contractor and local goon visited us and threatened us of physical assault if we pursued the matter," Yoginder said. MiD DAY has a copy of the complaint letter written by the Nigams to the police.

The other side
Explaining the day's events, site engineer Ishwar Patil of L&T Construction informed that the concrete mix was being used on one of the top-floor slabs of an under-construction building when the accident occurred. Patil said owing to the high pressure at which it was being pumped, the mix comprising cement, small stones and water fell on the ground floor where the cars were parked. "Our management will be meeting the Nigams soon to settle the issue," he said.

Accounts manager Shekhar Choudhry, who was allegedly present when the accident occurred, said that the company would be covering the cost of the damage to the Nigams' vehicles. "I am not aware of the other allegations levelled by Nigams," he said. Last evening, the Nigams received by cheque 70 per cent of the amount that they are supposed to spend on repairing the high-end cars.

Rs 9 lakh
Amount the repairs will cost the Nigams