Businessman slips into empty lift shaft, dies

A 47-year-old businessman died as he slipped into the shaft and fell over the lift car from the third floor of a readymade garment shop in Magadi Road.

Ajay Katavakar, who owned a sewing machine shop and lived with wife Sunitha S K and two children in Mahalakshmipuram, was purchasing a second-hand sewing machine from Sparkle Fashions company in Magadi Road on Monday when the accident happened.

On the third floor of the building, Katavakar packed the machines at 6.30 pm and wanted to take them to the ground floor by lift. He pressed the button for the lift and when the doors opened, he assumed the lift car was in position and moved to get in. But he fell into the empty shaft and landed atop the lift car on the second floor.

Loading the machines on the first floor, Katavakar’s staff Mastan and Faizal heard the sound of someone falling over the lift and rushed to the second floor. They pried open the doors and found Katavakar with injuries to his face and right hand. He was bleeding from the head.

When they tried to take him on the lift, the car collapsed once again and stopped between the first and second floor. The employees took Katavakar out of the lift and rushed him to the hospital, where doctors declared him dead around 7.30 pm.

His wife Sunitha filed a complaint against Sparkle Fashion with the Kamakshipalya police, accusing the company of poorly maintaining the lift that caused her husband’s death.

A senior police official said they booked a case of death by negligence against Sparkle Fashion and its owner. The company has been closed since the accident and the cops are yet to hold the spot investigation.

Police have issued notices to the company management to appear for questioning, the official added.