Day after turning 15, one Khar tree fall victim ‘brain dead’; friend to undergo surgery on Friday

Mumbai: One of the two friends who sustained grievous injuries after a tree fell from a construction site onto their auto in Khar last Sunday is reportedly brain dead. The victim, Aarika Srivastava had turned 15 on Wednesday, and never regained consciousness.

The first apnea test to determine brain death was conducted on her early on Thursday, according to Harish Kumar, the father of the other injured friend, Harshita Kumar (21). Harshita remains critical and is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday at Hinduja Hospital in Khar.

A second apnea test, done a minimum of six to eight hours apart, is mandatory to declare a patient brain dead, but it had not yet been conducted at the time of going to press, said Hinduja Hospital officials.

Aarika lived on Film City Road in Goregaon and Harshita in Santacruz West. Their fathers had grown up together and the children were close friends. Aarika’s elder sister, medical student Manasvi (19), was also travelling with them in the auto but escaped with minor injuries. The auto driver, too, sustained minor injuries.

Harish told TOI that Aarika dreamt of going to IIT. “We are victims in this case. We come from a humble middle-class background. Sumit (Aarika’s father) and I grew up together and so our children have grown up together, too. This is a matter of negligence, and it is inhuman. We want to better the system so that something like this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

BJP corporator Hetal Gala, chairperson of the garden and market committee in BMC, said, “I was in touch with the family. I visited them and was aware that the girl was kept on ventilator as it was her birthday.”

BMC officials said the tree was on private property and an FIR has already been filed. Khar police on Monday booked the construction firm, Bluestone Properties, that’s undertaking work at the site for alleged negligence. The case was registered under Sections 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings) and 125(b) (causing grievous hurt) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

An official from BMC’s H west-ward garden department said the ward office had written to the senior inspector of Khar police station on May 11, a day after the mishap, flagging concerns over debris dumping around some trees. “They had dangerously tilted towards the roadside due to debris being dumped around its base,” the official said. “Two trees—a Gulmohar and a Kailaspati—fell onto the auto carrying three female passengers and the driver.”

Police officials had earlier said the auto driver’s statement had been recorded and he is a key witness in the case.