MUMBAI — The family of Ramdhani Yadav, who died when a section of an under-construction metro bridge collapsed in Mumbai’s Mulund on February 14, 2026, staged a protest at the crash site on February 15 and refused to take possession of his body while demanding ₹2 crore in compensation and a government job for one family member.
Police moved relatives to the Mulund police station for talks that continued through Sunday. Local MLA Mohit Kotecha and former MP Manoj Kotak were also in discussions with family members. Community representatives who gathered at the location set a 5 pm deadline on February 15 for a written assurance from authorities and warned of a possible “chakka jam” if their demands were not met.
Protest and compensation demand
Relatives said the family’s refusal to collect the body will continue until they receive written commitments from both the project authorities and the state government. A relative, Shashikant Yadav, alleged that on the night of February 14, officials “from the contractor’s side” asked the family to accept ₹15 lakh in compensation along with ₹5 lakh in government relief; the family rejected the offer and refused to take the body.
Family members said they are seeking a written assurance of ₹2 crore in compensation and a permanent government job for one dependent, arguing that Yadav was the primary breadwinner and is survived by three daughters. They questioned how ₹20 lakh would cover long-term expenses for education, housing, and marriage, and said they want the compensation to reflect not only immediate loss but also the responsibility for an alleged failure of basic construction and safety norms on a public infrastructure project.
What happened on LBS Road
Authorities said a portion of a parapet from an elevated, under-construction metro bridge fell at about 12:15 pm on February 14 on Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Road near the Johnson & Johnson facility in Mulund. The debris struck a passing autorickshaw and a Skoda car. Yadav, who was in the rickshaw, died at the scene; the autorickshaw was crushed.
The incident occurred on a key arterial corridor that carries heavy daily traffic between central and eastern suburbs, raising immediate questions about site safety, barricading, and whether construction work and traffic movement were being managed to national bridge and urban transit standards. Municipal and metro authorities have initiated separate technical inquiries into how a parapet segment detached from the structure and whether there were prior red flags about the integrity of temporary supports.
Injured and hospital status
Three others were injured in the incident. According to a fire brigade official quoted by PTI, one victim was in critical condition and admitted to an ICU.
– Rajkumar Indrajeet Yadav, 45 — condition described as critical; admitted to ICU, a fire brigade official told PTI.
– Mahendra Pratap Yadav, 52
– Deepa Ruhiya, 40
Hospital authorities said the injured were undergoing treatment and that their condition would be monitored over the next 24–48 hours, after which doctors would decide on further surgical or rehabilitative interventions. Officials said medical reports are expected to form part of the evidence in the police investigation.
Police case, arrests and accountability
Mumbai Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) on the evening of February 14 at Mulund police station against officials of Milan Road Buildtech and DB Hill LBG under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Section 105, which covers culpable homicide not amounting to murder, along with other charges related to negligence and safety violations. The FIR makes the contractors and site managers formally answerable for whether basic precautions and engineering protocols were followed on the project.
Following the FIR, five project officials were arrested:
– Harish Chauhan — project director, Milan Road Buildtech
– Kuldeep Sapkal — project manager, Milan Road Buildtech
– Saurab Singh — deputy manager, Milan Road Buildtech
– Prashant Bhoir — supervisor, Milan Road Buildtech
– Avdhoot Inamdar — project manager, DB Hill LBG
Police said the accused would be questioned on the chain of approvals for the design and the method of construction, the quality of materials used, and whether any prior internal warnings were raised and ignored. Investigators are also expected to coordinate with structural engineers and government auditors to determine if responsibility lies solely with on-site personnel or extends to senior decision-makers in the contracting and implementing agencies.
Who Yadav was
Relatives said Yadav had been elected as the head of Bharthani village in Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur district from the Samajwadi Party and divided his time between his native village and Mumbai, where he worked to support his family. Local residents in Mulund and fellow migrants from Jaunpur said his death has intensified long-standing anxieties among daily commuters and workers who rely on auto-rickshaws and small vehicles along busy construction corridors.
Legal and procedural context
The case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the new criminal code that replaced the Indian Penal Code nationwide in 2024. Section 105 addresses “culpable homicide not amounting to murder” and can attract significant prison terms if officials are found to have shown gross negligence or reckless disregard for human life in the discharge of their duties.
An FIR is the formal document that opens a police investigation in India and can lead to arrests, forensic reviews, and charges placed before a magistrate. In infrastructure failures, FIRs typically run parallel to technical inquiries ordered by the state government, which may look at contract conditions, adherence to safety manuals, and whether oversight failures warrant blacklisting or financial penalties for the companies involved. Separately, compensation decisions for victims are usually taken by the state cabinet or urban development authorities, often using precedents from earlier industrial or infrastructure accidents.
Known timeline
– February 14, 2026, 12:15 pm — Parapet segment falls on LBS Road in Mulund; one fatality, three injured.
– February 14 evening — FIR registered at Mulund police station under BNS Section 105 and other provisions.
– February 15 — Family protests at the site; police shift discussions to Mulund police station; community sets a 5 pm deadline for written commitments on compensation and employment.
As of February 15, 2026, police said discussions with the family at the Mulund police station were ongoing, even as investigators began collecting structural documents, site records and CCTV footage to determine what led to the failure of the under-construction bridge.
