Overview
- A contract worker, identified as Angamma Devendra, fell from the sand‑cleaning bucket of a BMC Bobcat and was run over during a beach‑cleaning run on Friday morning, and she was declared dead at Cooper Hospital.
- Civic officials and police say the Bobcat hit a pothole or pit, which caused the worker to lose her balance and come under the machine’s wheel.
- Santacruz police have booked the driver, identified as Kaushik Hajra, under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for causing death by negligence and are recording witness statements.
- The driver has told investigators he warned workers not to ride in the bucket and that the victim ignored the instruction, a claim police are verifying as part of their probe.
- The incident raises questions about BMC beach‑cleaning practice and safety because the compact tracked Bobcat uses a specialised sand‑cleaning bucket and contractors commonly supply labour, which can complicate oversight and training.