Mumbai: A 42-year-old man was found dead in the basement of an under-construction Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) building in the Vikhroli East area two days ago. While the police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) in the matter, a 19-year-old man was found murdered at the same spot in 2022. The construction has come to a halt as the builder was arrested on charges of duping buyers who invested in other projects. Stuck in limbo, the project site has turned into a den for drug addicts and criminal activities, said the inhabitants of the Lareina Residency, the saleable component of the project.
On the evening of February 15, locals alerted the police after noticing the body floating in an open pit dug for a swimming pool. Owing to neglect, rainwater has accumulated in the pit that is clogged with construction debris and beer bottles dumped by druggies and tipplers, the police said. The body was identified as that of one Raju Manik Yenkappa, a resident of Vikhroli East, who allegedly oftenly visited the site for consuming alcohol.
Police suspect that an inebriated Yenkappa might have slipped into the pool and drowned. His body has been sent to Rajawadi Hospital for postmortem and the reports are yet to come, said senior Inspector Sudhir Hirdekar on Saturday. In 2022, the body of a 19-year-old Sumit Jambale was found in the same pool. At first, the case was suspected to be an accidental death, but it later turned out to be a murder. One Gaurav Shellar, 20, was arrested for the killing.
Talking to the Free Press Journal, Lareina Residency Flat Owners Association president Eusebius D'Cruz said that the redevelopment contract was awarded to Hemant Parikh of the SSV Builders and Developers. However, the SRA terminated the same by 2017-18.
Later, an FIR was registered against the builder for allegedly cheating 150 buyers and taking Rs30 crore on the pretext of selling flats in his Vikhroli project located at Tagore Nagar. After absconding for over three years, Parikh was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in 2021. He is currently out on bail.
Under-construction spot is not guarded
Given the situation, the work of the building has been stuck for several years. D'Cruz alleged that the under-construction spot has no security guards, lights or CCTVs, making it a safe haven for anti-social elements and putting a question mark on the locals' safety. The residents have conveyed their woes to the SRA and MahaRera, and even moved the court.
They have demanded that either Parikh be allowed to finish the project or let somebody else take over so that no such incidents recur. They also sought action against Parikh for gross negligence and causing the death of Yenkappa due to the unguarded swimming pool and the building premises.
