Balakrishnan added that Kanchan was going to visit her daughter in Bengaluru, who is nine-months pregnant, to take care of her. "The family should get justice,'' he said.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is washing its hands of the death of 57-year-old yoga instructor Kanchan Nath, who lost her life after a tree fell on her in Chembur, saying "she would have lived if she walked on the footpath".
"The video clearly shows the lady was walking in the middle of the road, and not on the footpath. It is a clear case of accidental death. We did not cut the tree because it was not in a bad condition. The issue of whether the tree fell due to heavy rain is debatable," said Bharat Marathe, Deputy Municipal Commissioner (DMC).
However, Rajat Nath, husband of the deceased, said he will take legal action against the tree officer of the M/West ward for criminal negligence. Advocate S Balakrishnan, the lawyer appointed by Nath, said, "I have asked the Chembur police to file an FIR under various sections of IPC against Deepali Kaur, the officer from M-West ward's garden department. It is a clear case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder".
Balakrishnan added that Kanchan was going to visit her daughter in Bengaluru, who is nine-months pregnant, to take care of her. "The family should get justice,'' he said.
However, the police is not ready to file an FIR. "We do not have enough evidence to register an FIR. We are investigating further to see if the incident was due to criminal negligence," said Shahaji Umap, Deputy Commissioner of Police.
Marathe, however, said that the tree is rooted on a private plot. "It is the owner or society's responsibility to ensure safety. When residents of the society approached BMC, we assigned a contractor to prune the dead branches. We are working with experts to curb future incidents," he said.
However, Balkrishnan said, "A resident of neighbouring Chandraday society, Avinash Pol, made repeated requests to the the ward office since January to cut part of the tree as it had developed cracks and became vulnerable. The ward officer (Kaur) visited the spot and granted permission to trim the dead branches, as opposed to cutting them, which Pol requested for," Balakrishnan said.
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