The dahi handi ‘death’ nobody told you about
Lalit Saroj suffered severe injuries to liver and kidneys, doctors pronounced, bunking the heart attack theory.
A post-mortem report into the death of a 25-year-old man from Kandivali, who died during dahi handi celebrations on Monday, has raised suspicions that he had, in fact, fallen from a human pyramid.
It was initially reported in the police panchnama that the man probably died due to a heart attack. However, the post-mortem report said the victim seemed to have fallen from “considerable height”, and that the nature of injuries suggested he may have been crushed under the weight of several people.
The dahi handi mandals have come under increased safety scrutiny this year, and the high court even banned those below 18 years of age from joining the human pyramids and capping the pyramids’ height to 20ft. However, both directives were set aside by the Supreme Court.
A panchnama prepared by the Samata Nagar police said that Lalit Saroj, a resident of Azad Nagar in Kandivali (E), suffered convulsions and collapsed while witnessing the celebrations in his area. The body was sent for post-mortem at Bhagwati Hospital in Borivali, where it was revealed the heart attack theory was nowhere near the truth.
When this correspondent visited the area to speak to the organisers, the residents said there was no mandal. “The celebrations were funded by the residents, there was no organising committee. While the residents come together to celebrate dahi handi, we have never had a dahi handi mandal. We don’t offer any prize money and welcome all groups who attempt to break the handi,” a resident said. He denied that local residents themselves formed human pyramids, saying “people from other areas” have been breaking the handi every year.
While friends of Saroj said in their statements to police that they feared he had suffered a heart attack, and rushed him to Shatabdi Hospital, where he was declared ‘brought dead’, the victim’s family, which confronted them after the post-mortem report was out, said a few of them admitted that Saroj had indeed fallen from the second tier of a human pyramid.
A forensic doctor, who was part of the team that conducted the autopsy, said that Saroj “most definitely did not die of a heart attack”, and a detailed report has already been submitted to police. “The victim suffered severe internal injuries, including to vital organs such as liver and kidneys. The nature of injuries suggested they had been caused by a fall from a reasonable height,” the doctor said.
He said that the entire team was surprised to see the panchnama report saying the victim had collapsed after suffering convulsions. “There were no external injuries, but only after we opened up the victim’s abdomen, that we came to know that most of his vital organs were severely injured. Such injuries are most likely caused by afall,” the doctor said.
Residents of Azad Nagar said the celebrations were funded by contributions from “hundreds of households” and that there were no organisers as such. One of the residents, Pankaj Mishra, said: “The residents have been organising dahi handi for the past several years, and we don’t even offer any prize money.“
Mishra said that Saroj was not part of a human pyramid. “I remember someone telling me that he suffered convulsions and was rushed to hospital. I didn’t know him really well, but I can tell you he hadn’t ever been a part of human pyramids during our dahi handi celebrations,” he said. Most mandals had taken extra precautions this year, ensuring the Supreme Court order of not allowing those below 12 years of age in human pyramids was followed.
The state was quick to point out that it had been a safer dahi handi compared to last year, when two govindas had died and more than 600 suffered injuries.
The official injury report this year mentions the death of one govinda (46-year-old Ravindra Ambekar from Lalbaug, and more than 300 injured). However, the casualty figure could change, with the Samata Nagar cops promising a thorough investigation. Sub-inspector Gokul Jagtap, who is investigating the case, said the cops were “shocked” to see the autopsy report.
“We have the report from the doctors, saying the victim may have died due to a fall, whereas everyone we spoke to in the neighbourhood said Saroj had suffered from convulsions,” Jagtap said. Police have filed a case of accidental death, and statements will be recorded afresh from Friday.
Saroj’s sister Anita said she called up all his friends and confronted them with the post-mortem findings. “We have informed police that one of his friends told us my brother was on the second tier of a human pyramid,” Anita said. Saroj was married recently and is the only earning member of a family comprising his wife, mother and three sisters.
A post-mortem report into the death of a 25-year-old man from Kandivali, who died during dahi handi celebrations on Monday, has raised suspicions that he had, in fact, fallen from a human pyramid.
It was initially reported in the police panchnama that the man probably died due to a heart attack. However, the post-mortem report said the victim seemed to have fallen from “considerable height”, and that the nature of injuries suggested he may have been crushed under the weight of several people.
A fresh probe has now been launched into the man’s death, as police suspect that the organisers could be trying to hush up the death.
The dahi handi mandals have come under increased safety scrutiny this year, and the high court even banned those below 18 years of age from joining the human pyramids and capping the pyramids’ height to 20ft. However, both directives were set aside by the Supreme Court.
A panchnama prepared by the Samata Nagar police said that Lalit Saroj, a resident of Azad Nagar in Kandivali (E), suffered convulsions and collapsed while witnessing the celebrations in his area. The body was sent for post-mortem at Bhagwati Hospital in Borivali, where it was revealed the heart attack theory was nowhere near the truth.
When this correspondent visited the area to speak to the organisers, the residents said there was no mandal. “The celebrations were funded by the residents, there was no organising committee. While the residents come together to celebrate dahi handi, we have never had a dahi handi mandal. We don’t offer any prize money and welcome all groups who attempt to break the handi,” a resident said. He denied that local residents themselves formed human pyramids, saying “people from other areas” have been breaking the handi every year.
While friends of Saroj said in their statements to police that they feared he had suffered a heart attack, and rushed him to Shatabdi Hospital, where he was declared ‘brought dead’, the victim’s family, which confronted them after the post-mortem report was out, said a few of them admitted that Saroj had indeed fallen from the second tier of a human pyramid.
A forensic doctor, who was part of the team that conducted the autopsy, said that Saroj “most definitely did not die of a heart attack”, and a detailed report has already been submitted to police. “The victim suffered severe internal injuries, including to vital organs such as liver and kidneys. The nature of injuries suggested they had been caused by a fall from a reasonable height,” the doctor said.
He said that the entire team was surprised to see the panchnama report saying the victim had collapsed after suffering convulsions. “There were no external injuries, but only after we opened up the victim’s abdomen, that we came to know that most of his vital organs were severely injured. Such injuries are most likely caused by afall,” the doctor said.
Residents of Azad Nagar said the celebrations were funded by contributions from “hundreds of households” and that there were no organisers as such. One of the residents, Pankaj Mishra, said: “The residents have been organising dahi handi for the past several years, and we don’t even offer any prize money.“
Mishra said that Saroj was not part of a human pyramid. “I remember someone telling me that he suffered convulsions and was rushed to hospital. I didn’t know him really well, but I can tell you he hadn’t ever been a part of human pyramids during our dahi handi celebrations,” he said. Most mandals had taken extra precautions this year, ensuring the Supreme Court order of not allowing those below 12 years of age in human pyramids was followed.
The state was quick to point out that it had been a safer dahi handi compared to last year, when two govindas had died and more than 600 suffered injuries.
The official injury report this year mentions the death of one govinda (46-year-old Ravindra Ambekar from Lalbaug, and more than 300 injured). However, the casualty figure could change, with the Samata Nagar cops promising a thorough investigation. Sub-inspector Gokul Jagtap, who is investigating the case, said the cops were “shocked” to see the autopsy report.
“We have the report from the doctors, saying the victim may have died due to a fall, whereas everyone we spoke to in the neighbourhood said Saroj had suffered from convulsions,” Jagtap said. Police have filed a case of accidental death, and statements will be recorded afresh from Friday.
Saroj’s sister Anita said she called up all his friends and confronted them with the post-mortem findings. “We have informed police that one of his friends told us my brother was on the second tier of a human pyramid,” Anita said. Saroj was married recently and is the only earning member of a family comprising his wife, mother and three sisters.
