12-yr-old crushed to death by slab at Delhi-Dehradun expressway construction site

A 12-year-old boy was killed after a heavy concrete girder beam being used in the construction of the Delhi-Dehradun expressway project fell on him on Pusta Road near Geeta Colony crematorium on Friday, police said on Saturday.

The boy had been missing since morning and his body was found crushed under the girder by some children from the neighbourhood who were playing around the place.

A case of death by negligence and negligent conduct concerning machinery was registered against the company carrying out the construction activities, police added.

Deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) Surendra Choudhary said that on Friday around 1.30pm, the police control room received a call that a boy was lying under a heavy slab on Pusta Road.

“A hydraulic crane was used to lift the heavy slab and remove the injured boy. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. The body was shifted to Subzi Mandi mortuary for autopsy. We have registered a case against the company,” said DCP Choudhary.

During the preliminary inquiry, the DCP said, it was revealed that the heavy concrete girder slabs were haphazardly kept in the area and the place was not guarded. Although there were no eyewitnesses, investigators suspected that the boy might have been playing around the place when the heavy slab fell on him.