Dr Amrapurkar's death: Bombay HC directs BMC to file affidavit on potholes, open manholes

Dr Amarapurkar, a senior gastroenterologist of the Bombay Hospital, was last seen on August 29 when he asked his driver to drop him off near his home at Elphinstone Road.

The Bombay High Court on Friday expressed pain over the death of a doctor who died after slipping into an open manhole on Tuesday, the day the city was battered by rain. The court directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to file an affidavit on the issue of potholes and open manholes.

A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice N M Jamdar was hearing a PIL filed by Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association, Mumbai seeking booking of officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for causing the death due to negligence.

The PIL also sought a compensation of Rs 50 lakh for the family of the victim, reports PTI.

The body of Dr Deepak Amrapurkar, who fell in a manhole two days ago, had been found on Thursday at Worli seashore.

Dr Amarapurkar, a senior gastroenterologist of the Bombay Hospital, was last seen on August 29 when he asked his driver to drop him off near his home at Elphinstone Road.

Witnesses claimed that he fell into an open manhole on a flooded road. The doctor went missing while he was walking towards his residence when it was raining heavily, the official added.

Torrential rains pounded the metropolis for two days. The city gauged a whopping 298 mm of rainfall, the highest in a day in August since 1997.

(With agency inputs)