An 18-month-old girl died after she was allegedly pushed into an open duct from the sixth floor of a Slum Rehabilitation Authority building in Goregaon East, Mumbai, on Wednesday night, according to the Dindoshi police.
The incident reportedly occurred at around 9.30 pm while the toddler was playing on the sixth floor of the building. Police said the child fell through the open duct and landed on the ground floor. The circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated.
According to the police, the toddler was allegedly pushed by a 10-year-old girl who lived in the same building. The alleged incident came to light after investigators examined CCTV footage from the premises. Police have not disclosed further details about what the footage showed.
The Dindoshi police have registered an accidental death report in connection with the child’s death. A senior inspector from the police station said the 10-year-old girl had been produced before the Child Welfare Committee, or CWC.
The CWC will conduct an inquiry and decide the further course of action, police said. Because the person allegedly involved is a minor, the matter has been referred to the child welfare authorities rather than being handled through the adult criminal justice process described in the report.
The incident has also drawn attention to the physical condition of the building, specifically the presence of an open duct extending from the sixth floor to the ground floor. The supplied police account does not establish when the duct was built, whether it was required to be secured under building or safety rules, or whether residents had previously raised concerns about it.
The report also does not provide details about the building’s managing authority, the ownership or maintenance responsibility for the duct, or whether any civic or housing agency has inspected the premises after the incident. Those questions remain part of the information yet to be established.
The police investigation is continuing, while the Child Welfare Committee’s inquiry will determine the next course of action concerning the 10-year-old girl. Further official findings are expected from those proceedings.
