MUMBAI: The grieving father of 21-year-old Muzammil Khokar, who was killed when a massive crane crashed from the 11th floor of an under-construction building in Mira Road earlier this month, was admitted to hospital after his health deteriorated on the fifth day of a hunger strike demanding that the builder be named as an accused in the case.

Aziz Khokar, father of 21-year-old Muzzamil who was crushed under a crane in Mira Road, lands in ICU at hospital after being on hunger strike for five days.--- Photo By --- Azim tamboli

Abdul Aziz Khokar, 47, who has been staging a protest outside the Kashigaon police station seeking justice for his eldest son, was shifted to the intensive care unit of Cordis Criticare Hospital in Mira Road East on Friday night after his blood sugar and blood pressure levels dropped, family members said.

Muzammil died on July 16 after a crane, more than 100 feet tall, toppled from an adjacent under-construction multi-level parking building and crashed onto him, killing him on the spot.

Following the accident, the Kashigaon police registered an FIR against the crane operator and several employees of the construction firm executing the project. However, senior executives of the company were not named in the case, a decision the family has strongly opposed.

Khokar has alleged that the police shielded senior officials of the construction firm while booking only the contractor and site engineers.

“A day after Khokar approached the Bombay High Court and filed a writ petition, his blood sugar and blood pressure increased, following which he had to be admitted to hospital,” said Asif Chowdhary, Muzammil’s maternal uncle. “Only after the medical reports come will we know exactly what is wrong with Aziz.”

Chowdhary said the family moved the High Court on the advice of their lawyer after the police registered an FIR against five accused without naming the builder, JP Infra.

Recalling the day of the tragedy, Chowdhary said, “Muzammil had a habit of taking evening walks within the complex. On Thursday, before dinner, he completed his usual rounds and then decided to sit near the temple inside the society.”

“There is a prayer meeting at the temple every day, but on that day the regular attendees had gone on a religious yatra. It was then that the entire crane came crashing down,” he said.

Questioning the scope of the police action, Abdul Aziz Khokar said, “Why only the contractor? JP Infra is the main culprit. Residents of JK Iris had warned the builder several times about the danger of operating a 360-degree revolving crane in such a cramped area, but no attention was paid.”