35-year-old driver’s body found after being trapped in debris for 22 hrs

Bhiwandi: After being trapped under the debris for nearly 22 hours, 35-year-old Sudhakar Gavai’s body was pulled out around 10.30am on Sunday during the rescue operation. He was a driver and also served as Diva Yuva president, Republican Party of India (RPI-A) (Deepak Nikalje faction).

Initially, his family members could not recognise him. After they moved him to IGM Hospital, his Aadhar card, and driver’s licence was found in his pocket, thus confirming his identity.

Gavai lived with his wife Chhaya and two children in Diva and was a very active RPI leader according to his friends and relatives. He was employed at MRK Pvt Ltd for the last eight years.

Nanda Ahire, Gavai’s sister, said on Saturday she received information about the building collapse and she left Diva with her cousin Siddharth at about 1.45pm, but it took them more than three hours to reach the collapse site due to heavy traffic jam. Upon reaching there, she learnt that Gavai was still missing and was feared trapped in the debris.

Buldhana-based Padmakar Gavai, 38, elder brother of Sudhakar said that he got the news about 3.30pm on Saturday and along with family members he immediately left Buldana district for Bhiwandi. “I reached here at night, but my brother was not pulled out. All family members were awake the whole night praying for Sudhakar’s survival. As the clock ticked, we were losing hope.

When Gavai was finally pulled out from the debris on Sunday morning, Padmakar said his family members and friends could not recognise him as a shard of glass (edible product bottle glass) was stuck in his body.

“The body of Sudhakar was taken to Diva for 20 minutes to allow local people a last glimpse. He was very popular and played an active leadership role in the area for the last many years. Later his body was taken to Buldhana for final rites,” said Siddharth Gavai, a relative.