The protesting tribals blamed the Cidco officials for the man’s death
Therefore, the question of his death during the eviction campaign does not arise.
Following the incident, Cidco said in a press release that, during the eviction drive, it razed an unauthorised commercial structure consisting of a brick building and a tarpaulin-sheet shed. It said that the allegations that a tribal man died during the drive are false, as no action was taken on the hutment where the tribal man was found dead. Suresh Mengade, Cidco’s chief vigilance officer, said, “The CUC team had gone to the Adivasi hamlet atop Kharghar hill for demolition of an illegal canteen being constructed using a tarpaulin shed and bricks, as despite serving two notices to evacuate the encroachment on Cidco land, the concerned person constructing the illegal canteen did not evacuate. Sanjay Joshi, senior inspector of Kharghar, said, “Prima facie, we have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) which will be followed by an in-depth probe.”
The local tribals alleged that Cidco officials were responsible for his death by carrying out the demolition without checking whether the shanty was occupied or not. On the contrary, when the hutment of the concerned tribal man was inspected from outside by the CUC team, it was found that the man was already lying injured inside the hutment; hence, an ambulance was called, and he was taken to Panvel sub-district hospital, where he was declared brought dead. The local tribals accompanying the deceased man’s kin gathered at Kharghar police station and demanded that an FIR should be registered against the Cidco officials concerned, alleging that they were responsible for the physically challenged tribal man’s death while carrying out the demolition drive by razing down the hutment. The argument was recorded by the locals, and it went viral on social media. After razing down the illegal canteen, the CUC team, while coming down the hill, spotted five shanties encroaching on Cidco land. Hence, the CUC team, along with local police, razed down one shanty after confirming that only wood logs were stored inside. When the team checked the adjacent hutment, a physically challenged man, with an amputated right hand below the elbow, was lying motionless. He had a head injury with dried blood which indicated it might be two days old injury and also injury to his hand and blood accumulated in eyes. Hence, the police took him in an ambulance to Panvel sub-district hospital. The post-mortem report will reveal the date and time of the tribal man’s death.
Tribals argued with the Cidco officials and the local police after a Cidco official in the CUC team claimed that the man’s body was deliberately kept inside the hutment before the demolition drive to blame Cidco for his death while carrying out the demolition. Navi Mumbai: A demolition drive by Cidco’s CUC (Controller of Unauthorised Construction) team to raze encroachments by illegal shanties and a canteen shed at the tribal hamlet on Kharghar hill at Belpada on Tuesday morning was protested by the tribals after a physically challenged tribal man was found dead in a shanty.