Archive · 27 Aug 2026
NCSC Notices Follow Five Worker Deaths In Nigdi Duct
Two workers were found unconscious inside a duct near Lokmanya Hospital in Nigdi.
They were taken to YCM Hospital, where doctors declared them dead.
This same duct had already been linked to three worker deaths in an earlier incident.
That means five workers have died there in about one year.
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has asked local officials to explain what happened.
The officials must send their reports within 15 days.
Police are checking who sent the workers into the duct and whether they had been given the work officially.
They are also investigating how the deaths happened.
The Commission can take further action if officials do not respond.
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes issued notices after two workers died in a Nigdi duct on Aug. 26.
The deaths brought the total number of workers killed in the same duct to five across two incidents in about a year.
The notices went to the Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal commissioner, police commissioner and Pune social welfare assistant commissioner.
Officials must submit fact-finding and action-taken reports within 15 days or face possible summons and further action.
Police are investigating why the workers entered the duct, who assigned the work and the exact cause of death.
- Who
- Two workers, Manoj Baburao Shinde and Amol Ashok Shinde, died; the NCSC issued notices to three Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune officials.
- What
- The NCSC sought fact-finding and action-taken reports after the deaths of two workers in a duct that had previously claimed three lives.
- When
- The latest incident occurred at about 11:45 p.m. on Aug. 26; officials have 15 days after receiving the notices to respond.
- Where
- In a duct near Lokmanya Hospital in Pradhikaran, Nigdi, Pimpri-Chinchwad.
- Why
- The repeat deaths raised concerns about safety measures and whether adequate precautions were taken after the earlier incident.
Safety and Accountability Concerns
Authorities’ Ongoing Investigation
Responsibility for repeated deaths
Safety and Accountability Concerns
The repeat deaths at the same duct have raised questions about whether civic and other authorities maintained adequate safety measures after the earlier incident.
Authorities’ Ongoing Investigation
Authorities have not yet determined who assigned the latest work or whether the men were officially connected to BSNL-related work, so responsibility remains under investigation.
Cause of death
Safety and Accountability Concerns
The deaths have renewed concerns about the dangers of entering closed underground chambers and whether proper precautions were followed.
Authorities’ Ongoing Investigation
Police have not yet established the exact cause of death; in the earlier incident, police suspected suffocation.
- Latest deaths
- Two workers died after falling into the duct on Aug. 26.
- Total deaths
- Five workers have died in the same duct in two incidents within about a year.
- NCSC action
- Notices were issued under Article 338 of the Constitution.
- Recipients
- The Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal commissioner, Pimpri-Chinchwad police commissioner and Pune assistant commissioner of the Social Welfare Department.
- Response deadline
- Fact-finding and action-taken reports are due within 15 days of receiving the notices.
- Earlier incident
- Three workers died after entering the duct on Aug. 15, 2025; police suspected suffocation and registered a culpable homicide case.
- Investigation status
- Police have not established why the latest victims entered the duct, who assigned the work or the exact cause of death.