Mumbai: Worker Falls To Death At Mumbai Airport Hangar; Four Booked For Criminal Negligence

The Mumbai Airport Police have registered a case of death due to negligence against four individuals, including the owner and manager of VB Engineering Systems (Udupi, Karnataka), and two officials from Air India Engineering Services Ltd. (AIESL), in connection with the tragic death of a 27-year-old contract worker, Vishal Hari Maddheshiya, who fell from a hangar roof while on duty at the Kalina airport on April 1.

Those named in the FIR include Sanath Kumar, owner of VB Engineering Systems (Udupi, Karnataka), company manager Vasudev Palan, and two senior officials from Air India Engineering Services Ltd. (AIESL) —Safety Officer Pratik Penurkar and an unnamed Manager. All have been booked under Sections 106 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for causing death by negligence.

According to the police, the fatal accident occurred around 5:15 PM at Hangar-3 in the Old Airport area of Santacruz East On June 1. Maddheshiya, a native of Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, was engaged in roofing repairs at a height of nearly 100 feet when a cement sheet gave way beneath him. Despite being rushed to Cooper Hospital by coworkers, he was declared dead on arrival.

According to the complaint filed by the deceased’s brother, Girijeshkumar, 42, his brother was working as a fabricator for VB Engineering, which had been contracted for sheet replacement and repair work on Hangar-3.

Investigations revealed a disturbing lack of safety precautions at the site. According to the police, the workers received no formal training, were not provided with essential safety gear, and were operating without a safety net or proper harnesses. No safety officer was present to supervise the high-risk work.

The victim’s brother, Girijeshkumar, further states that the workers had to set up their own ropes to access the roof, without proper support or supervision. On the day of the incident, Vishal and his coworkers were reportedly descending without any secured lines or backup rope when the sheet he was on suddenly broke, resulting in the fatal fall.

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Worker Atul Chaurasia, who had earlier risked his own safety to rig up a temporary rope for support, confirmed that there was no secondary rope or safe descent method provided after the day’s work was finished. While nine out of ten roof panels had been repaired, the accident occurred during the descent after the final panel was completed.

The police initially recorded an accidental death report and began investigating the circumstances. Upon uncovering evidence of gross negligence—especially the lack of safety infrastructure and supervision—they formally registered the case.

The investigation is ongoing.