Noida: The president of the residents’ association of a society here, where a 72-year-old woman had died last week due to a malfunctioning lift, was arrested but was granted bail on the same day, officials said on Wednesday.
Colonel (retired) Ramesh Gautam, the president of the residents’ association, is among seven persons booked in the case in which a woman died of a possible heart attack when a cable of a lift in a Noida society snapped.
Susheela Devi, 72, a resident of Paras Tierea society in Sector 137, died after the cable of the lift she was in snapped, leading to a free fall between some floors of the high-rise building. She was alone in the lift, according to police.
“The president of the Paras Tierea Apartment Owners Association (AOA) was held on Tuesday but granted bail by a local court the same day,” Additional DCP (Central Noida) Rajeev Dixit said on Wednesday.
Gautam is one of the persons booked in the FIR lodged under IPC sections 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 304A (death due to negligence) at the Sector 142 Police Station.
Gautam, a senior citizen, had not been keeping well since the August 3 incident and was hospitalised, too, according to officials.
Besides him, six other people, including office bearers of the AOA and officials of society’s maintenance firm, were booked in the case, while the lift-maker company was also named as an accused in the FIR.
Uttar Pradesh, currently, does not have any law to regulate installation, maintenance or usage of lifts, despite demands by residents in Noida and Greater Noida.
On Tuesday, BJP MLA from Jewar Dhirendra Singh met with UP CM Yogi Adityanath and urged the enactment of the Lift Act in the state, citing various problems being caused due to lack of a legislation.
Earlier this week, some representatives of residents’ bodies also met with top officers of local authorities with the same demand.
PTI