"I fear for the lives of my children and my family," said 35-year-old Shweta while strolling towards the lift of tower no. 24 in Noida's Paras Tierea housing society.
Ever since a 73-year-old woman died after one of the lifts of the apartment complex malfunctioned on Thursday, 3 August, residents are afraid and hesitant of taking the elevators.
Around 4 pm on Thursday, Shushila Devi, a resident of the eighth floor of tower no. 24 of Paras Tierea housing society, took a lift to go to the second floor.
The lift allegedly malfunctioned and instead of going to the second floor, the lift overshot and was found stuck in between floors on the 24th floor of the tower, as per the complaint by Devi's son Devesh Kumar.
She was evacuated from the lift by technicians and was taken to the nearby Felix Hospital where she passed away.
FIR Registered Against 8 People
A day later, The Quint met residents of the housing society in Noida's sector 137, and spoke to Noida police personnel investigating the case. The society falls under the jurisdiction of the Noida Sector 142 police station.
A police officer on condition of anonymity told The Quint, "We have registered an FIR against eight people, including four members of the Apartment Owners' Association (AOA) of the society, three members of the society maintenance agency, and the elevator manufacturer, Thyssenkrupp."
On the basis of Kumar's complaint, FIR was registered at the Sector 142 police station under sections 304A (death due to negligence) and 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) of the Indian Penal Code.
Tower number 24 of Paras Tierea, where the lift malfunctioned.
(Photo Credit: Maaz Hasan)
UP Police personnel inspecting the site.
(Photo credit: Maaz Hasan)
In the preliminary investigation, the police claimed that it found that the lift was not being maintained properly. "We have sought CCTV footage and the Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) of the lift. The residents claim that the AMC had expired and was not renewed," said a police official on condition of anonymity.
One of the two lifts at tower 24 is sealed by the police.
(Photo credit: Maaz Hasan)
'Society Not Maintained Properly'
"Just take a walk around the society and see the condition. Lift, water, electricity -- we are facing all sorts of issues. The society is not being managed properly. This is my last month as a tenant, I am leaving this society," told Shweta to The Quint.
She is a native of Rajasthan's Jaipur and has been staying in tower number 24 since June this year. Since the incident, one of the two lifts of the tower has been sealed by Noida police.
"My flat is on the 20th floor. I don't even have the option of using the staircase".Shweta, Resident
Carcks have developed at several places in the towers of the society.
(Photo credit: Maaz Hasan)
A large patch of plaster peeling off on the walls of tower 24 of Paras Tierea housing society.
(Photo credit: Maaz Hasan)
A few residents that The Quint met lamented how they want to move out of the society. Saksham Dhyani, a techie working at an IT firm in Gurugram, is one of them. He said that once his rent contract expires in three months, he will leave.
"Every tower of the society has some issues with the lift. In the studio tower there are 607 flats and only two lifts have been installed there. One can only imagine the amount of load and waiting time of the lift, especially when lifts fail so frequently in the society," said Madhushree Nagar, a resident of the society since 2014.
Studio tower of Paras Tierea. Plaster is peeling off the walls of the towers.
(Photo credit: Maaz Hasan)
The buildings bear a dilapidated condition, with plaster peeling off in patches. Cracks have snaked their way on the walls of the buildings and the switches of the lifts have fallen off. Even the requisite maintenance certificates could not be found inside the car of the lift on Friday.
A damaged lift panel at a tower in Paras Tierea.
(Photo credit: Maaz Hasan)
A lift of the studio tower without any maintenance certificate.
(Photo credit: Maaz Hasan)
On conditions of anonymity, a senior engineer of Thyssenkrupp, the makers of the lift, told The Quint, "Due to malfunction, the lift of tower no. 24 overshot and it got stuck at the overdraft space between the machine room on the terrace and the top floor of the building. Society maintenance team failed to rescue the woman from the car of the lift."
He claimed that the company was called only after the society maintenance team failed to rescue the woman. "Our technicians were present in the society and were working in a different tower. Once they got a call, they went and rescued her," said Thyssenkrupp's engineer.
On being asked how and why the lift malfunctioned, the engineer told The Quint, "Since the site is now under police investigation, we have not been able to inspect the lift and find the reason behind the incident."
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