Rain, wind make cladding around Gandhi mural fall on man, killing him

The deceased, identified as Madhukar Narvekar, 62, was returning home in Dahisar after completing an inquiry regarding his provident fund when the incident occurred

A Dahisar resident lost his life on Wednesday after a part of the cladding around the mural of Mahatma Gandhi on the eastern facade of Churchgate station fell on him due to heavy cyclonic winds and rain. The deceased, identified as Madhukar Narvekar, 62, was returning home after completing an inquiry regarding his provident fund when the incident occurred.

When Madhukar was passing by Churchgate station around 12.20 pm, a part of the cladding around the 81 ft x 54 ft mural fell on him. He was rushed to the G T hospital. "The patient suffered injuries to his head and chest. The deceased was bleeding profusely from his head. We tried to resuscitate him for an hour but were unable to revive him. He had developed internal bleeding in his brain, which led to his death. The body has been sent for post-mortem," said a doctor on-call at GT hospital. According to Western Railway, two others suffered very minor injuries in the incident.

Also Read: Mumbai: Heavy rains, strong winds lash city as citizens gear up for monsoon

Rajesh Chavan, a student, was standing near a bus stop close to the mural when the cladding fell in a fraction of second. "All of us started running, then someone called a taxi and rushed him to a hospital," he said.

Madhukar's son Hemant said, "After his retirement, he wanted to inquire about his provident fund, so he had decided to go to Churchgate on Wednesday. He left from home after breakfast and also chatted about the weather; I asked him to be careful. Little did I know that would be our last conversation and he would die like this. I want justice from whoever is responsible for this." WR has ordered an inquiry into the incident and handed over an ex-gratia payment of R5 lakh to Madhukar's family.

Also Read: Mumbai: Sheet of Bandra's skywalk falls on commuters; three injured

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