Sanitation Worker Crushed to Death by Beach Cleaning Machine at Juhu Beach

A 55-year-old contractual sanitation worker died on Friday morning after falling under a Bobcat beach-cleaning machine at Juhu beach in Mumbai. The victim, Angamma Devendra, was run over by the machine's left wheel after she lost her balance when the vehicle hit a pit.

The Santacruz police have filed a case against the machine’s operator, 22-year-old Kaushik Hajra, for allegedly causing death by negligence. Both Devendra and Hajra, who are residents of Juhu’s Nehru Nagar area, were employed by Pratisthan Sanstha. The organisation was engaged by the BMC for the cleaning of Juhu beach.

According to the police, the fatal accident took place around 10:00 AM. Devendra and five to six other sanitation workers were reportedly seated in the bucket of the Bobcat machine while it was in motion. When the machine went into a pit, Devendra lost her balance and fell to the ground. She came under the machine’s left wheel and sustained severe injuries.

She was immediately rushed to Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle West, where doctors declared her 'brought dead'.

Following the incident, Hajra was booked under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with causing death by negligence, along with other applicable sections of the law. No arrest has been made by the police so far.

During questioning, Hajra reportedly told the police that he had asked Devendra not to sit in the machine’s bucket. However, she allegedly ignored his instructions and remained seated there.

A civic official stated that they will be carrying out an investigation into the incident. The official added that the administration will take action against Pratisthan Sanstha if the organisation is found to be at fault for the safety lapse.