Third septic tank death at Ambujwadi, BMC to ask police to investigate

MUMBAI: 45-year-old Ramlagan Chotelal Kewat, who was in the Intensive Care Unit after falling into a septic tank in Malad’s Ambujwadi area, died early on Saturday morning. His two children, Suraj (18) and Vikas (20), passed away on Thursday after falling into the same septic tank.

The BMC said that it would now write to the police, asking them to provide a fact-finding report into what exactly happened and how the deaths occurred. On Friday, it also issued a 24-hour show cause notice to the Community Based Organisation (CBO) that was tasked with maintaining the toilet.

A CBO comprises individuals from the slum who are responsible for the functioning of the toilet. CBOs are not paid for this task, despite being charged commercial rates when the BMC’s services are employed. They are expected to run the toilet on the fees given by slum dwellers ( ₹100 per month on an average) for using the toilet.

“Our records show that Ramlagan was the main contact person for this CBO,” said Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner of P North Ward. “He too has died, so now we will write to the police to investigate the matter, as a response to the notice is not expected. There are many theories doing the rounds about the incident, but only actual investigation can show what happened.”

The notice issued by the BMC on Friday mentioned that when the fire brigade and officials from P North Ward entered the premises to inspect them after the incident, there was a strong odour of toxic gases. “The entrance chamber was found to be open, which was then done by one of the three victims (according to witnesses). The thick nylon rope was seen next to the chamber, which might have been used by the victims to enter inside the septic tank. The electricity connection was found to be disconnected,” (sic) says the BMC notice.

Gopal Shetty, MP from the constituency, also visited the victims’ family. “They died because of falling into the septic tank,” he said. “They had gone to clean it, and one after the other, all three fell in. I have asked the BMC officials to visit tomorrow, and we are also talking to the district collector to ensure that the victims get compensation and support.”

HT on Friday had reported that while the BMC said that the deaths happened on account of falling into the septic tank, officials of Malwani Police Station said the victims had fallen into a water tank.

HT got in touch with one of the members of the CBO. The member said that the chambers were not maintained by the BMC and had structural problems. He alleged that when Ramlagan asked the BMC to clean the septic tank, he was asked for ₹5000 by BMC officials. “Ramlagan was the secretary of the CBO and he, along with his two sons, used to maintain the toilet,” said the member. “There were many issues with this public toilet, which the BMC never maintained. The overflowing tank behind the toilet was also not covered and was in a dangerous condition.”

A senior BMC official requesting anonymity said, “This is a clear case of a manual scavenging death. The deaths happened due to gases from the septic tank, but it will now depend on how the police investigate this.” Manual scavenging has been outlawed since 2013 and is punishable under the law.

As of Saturday night, no FIR had been filed. Chimaji Adhav, senior police inspector of Malwani police station, said that the relatives of the deceased were busy with their last rites and their statements were yet to be recorded.