It was his wedding anniversary and a celebration had been planned for the evening; residents of affected three-storey claim it had been repaired many times
Some of the debris that fell in the Gabras’ house. Pics/Navneet Barhate
Their wedding anniversary turned into tragedy for an Ulhasnagar couple on Sunday, when a portion of a neighbouring building fell on their house, and the man later died of a heart attack, probably in shock. The deceased Gopaldas Gabra, 60, and his wife Varkha, were to celebrate their 38th wedding anniversary in the evening.
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The Gabras stayed with their son Rahul, 28, at Camp number-3 at barrack number-146 in Ulhasnagar. He had gone to the market when the incident took place. According to the police, on Sunday at 8.30 am when the Gabras were sleeping, a portion of the neighbouring three-storey Sai Sadan building fell on their house. The couple received minor injuries in the incident.
The portion of Sai Sadan that fell on Sunday morning
Speaking to mid-day, Gopaldas's brother Jethanand said, “My brother and sister-in-law were rushed to the nearest hospital in an ambulance. But my brother got scared due to the incident and had a heart attack in the ambulance and died in the hospital. Sunday was his wedding anniversary and we were to celebrate in the evening at home.”
According to the police, a fire brigade team, Municipal Commissioner Aziz Shaikh and municipal personnel rushed to the spot. With the help of the police, residents of the building were evacuated as a safety measure. Sai Sadan society was constructed 30 years ago and was repaired many times residents claimed.
Gopaldas and Varkha Gabra got minor injuries in the incident
Deputy Commissioner Jamir Lengarekar of Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation addressed the media at the spot and said that many such incidents have taken place in the past and it required awareness among residents to repair their societies. ACP Motichand Rathod of Ulhasnagar division said, “We have registered an ADR in this case. We have sent the body of Gopaldas Gabra for post mortem.”