The Hindu : New Delhi News : Labourer killed at Games village in the Capital

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Monday, Dec 15, 2008
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Labourer killed at Games village in the Capital

Staff Reporter

Construction company’s office allegedly vandalised

A segment of the crane used for lifting construction material came crashing down
Investigations reveal that the construction work at the residential block had been sub-contracted

NEW DELHI: A 28-year-old labourer was crushed to death when a segment of a mobile crane collapsed at the construction site of Commonwealth Games village in the trans-Yamuna area on Sunday. Irate labourers then allegedly vandalised the construction company’s office and damaged some vehicles.

The incident took place around 9-30 a.m. when construction work was going on at the residential block of the Commonwealth Games village. A segment of the crane used for lifting construction material suddenly came crashing down. The broken piece fell on a labourer killing him on the spot. He was identified as Shailendra Kumar, a resident of Gurdaspur in Punjab.

Other labourers at the spot alleged that another fellow labourer, Manish, was also injured. However, the police said they were not informed about it.

The body of the labourer was swiftly removed. Soon more labourers gathered at the spot and suddenly turned violent, vandalising the security room.

They also allegedly tried to set it on fire and damaged an ambulance and some other vehicles parked there, following which they entered the project office and vandalised it.

The labourers alleged that accidents had taken place at the construction site earlier also but the police were not informed and the matter was kept under wraps.

The police rushed to the spot around 11-15 a.m. and calmed down the labourers assuring them of appropriate action against those found guilty.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the construction work at the residential block had been sub-contracted.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (East Delhi) Shankar Das said: “The body of the labourer has been kept in the mortuary and post-mortem will be conducted on Monday. As for allegations of vandalism, we have not received any formal complaint from the aggrieved party.”

The police have registered a case of causing death due to negligence and have initiated investigations to fix responsibility.

“We could not question any senior official as none of them was present at the spot on Sunday,” said Mr. Das.

The police will also ascertain if there was any truth in the allegations about inadequate safety measures at the construction site.

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