Overview
- Aarika Shrivastava, 14, died Sunday morning at Hinduja Hospital, a week after two trees from a private site on Khar’s Linking Road collapsed onto her autorickshaw.
- Harshita Kumar, 21, remains in the ICU after head and spine surgeries, with her family saying doctors reported positive signs even as recovery is expected to be slow.
- Khar police first filed a negligence case against Bluestone Construction under the new criminal code and moved to add culpable homicide charges after Aarika’s death, with no arrests announced.
- The city’s civic body said debris piled around tree bases at the Bluestone site likely destabilized them, and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority ordered a stop to all work at the project.
- Bluestone expressed condolences and said early checks suggest concealed internal decay and termite damage in the tree, as a technical assessment to fix responsibility continues.