Doctor died after men posing as BMC staff opened manhole

Mumbai: Dadar police’s probe into the death of gastroenterologist Dr Deepak Amarapurkar, who  fell into a civic manhole in Elphinstone Road during the heavy downpour on August 29, revealed that the six men who allegedly opened the manhole had posed as BMC workers when a police constable halted them, questioning their act.

The accused had lied to hide their illegal act. The probe also revealed that a local had tried his best to save the doctor by clutching his hands in his final moments but the water pressure sucked him inside the manhole.

The police has arrested five of the six accused so far. The accused told the police that some time after 4 pm on August 29, they had decided to open the manhole located at a point around Senapati Bapat Marg and SN Matkar road, as their street-side chawl residences were overflooded, said a police source. The manhole’s metallic cover was “very heavy” and required the efforts of at least six persons. It was then that the constable, Naineshwar G, accosted them, asking them why they were uncovering the manhole.

 When the doctor stepped into the manhole, he was struggling to stay afloat for a few seconds even as a local, Anant Patil, rushed to clutch his hands, but in vain.

“The gushing water’s force pulled in the doctor despite the efforts of the local,” said assistant commissioner of police (Dadar) Sunil Deshmukh. In the end, Patil was left clutching the doctor’s his umbrella, which had distinctive marks that eventually helped in identifying the body.  

The constable, who had questioned the accused, subsequently identified the first four accused after their in an Identification Parade, while the fifth accused got bail after his arrest. The five men were arrested under section 304(A) of the Indian Penal Code that pertains to death caused by negligence.