By: Srimoyee PalitMUMBAI: A 50-year-old autorickshaw driver was killed after a concrete slab fell from the 17th floor of a residential building in Qureshi Nagar, Chunabhatti, late Thursday night.The deceased, Abdul Wahab, was a resident of Gaffar Estate in Bandra East and lived with his younger brother and elderly mother. According to his family, Wahab had just completed his work for the day and was walking back home when the incident took place around 9.30pm near Galaxy Apartment.Jahangir Wahab, victim’s younger brother who works at one of the city’s transport offices, said the slab fell from a window of the building’s 17th floor. “The slab first struck a shed of a cafe located below and then bounced directly onto my brother’s head,” he said.The owner of the cafe said their shed is being fixed after the incident. “The stone first landed on the cafe’s shed and then broke apart, with a piece striking the deceased on his head,” he said.Jahangir alleged poor maintenance of the building may have contributed to the tragedy. “The building looks poorly maintained and could have led to the concrete slab to come crashing down,” he claimed.He said he was informed of the incident by a friend who called to say his brother had suffered a severe head injury and was bleeding profusely from his head . Wahab was rushed to Sion Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. According to the family, doctors said the injury to his head was so severe that it proved fatal.Following the incident, Mumbai Fire Brigade has removed the precariously hanging portion of the parapet wall. The area around the building was cordoned off as a precautionary measure.
