A construction site on Jatindra Mohan Avenue in North Kolkata has become the subject of a police case after debris from an under-construction high-rise allegedly struck two teachers returning from census duty, followed by an altercation with workers at the site.
Padma Shri awardee teacher Kazi Masum Akhtar and his colleague Swati Banerjee were walking near Shyambazar AV School at around 5 pm on Friday when chunks of cement and bricks reportedly fell from the building and hit them on the head. Akhtar is the headmaster of Haranath High School in Baghbazar, while Banerjee is an assistant teacher at the same school.
Banerjee alleged in her complaint that the construction site did not have safety nets to prevent material from falling onto the busy road. She also pointed to exposed iron rods protruding from the perimeter of the site. The teachers had been returning after completing census-related work when the incident occurred, according to the complaint.
The complaint further alleges that the workers became hostile when the two teachers confronted them. Banerjee said she used her mobile phone to record the site and the workers’ conduct, but one worker allegedly attempted to snatch the phone and stop her from filming. The teachers were also allegedly subjected to verbal abuse and intimidation during the altercation.
Banerjee stated that the scuffle left her humiliated and that her modesty was compromised. She submitted photographs of the construction site and their injuries to Shyampukur police station and requested that the complaint be treated as a first information report. A case was subsequently registered, although the report does not specify the sections invoked.
The incident raises immediate safety concerns for pedestrians using a heavily travelled urban road alongside an active high-rise construction site. Falling construction material, unprotected edges and exposed reinforcement can create risks beyond the workers inside a project, particularly where sites directly abut pavements or carriageways.
When the site was visited on Sunday, safety nets had been installed along its edge. Police could not establish whether the nets had been in place on Friday, before the alleged incident, or had been added afterwards. The police investigation and the evidence submitted by the complainant will determine the circumstances of the alleged assault and the site’s safety arrangements at the time.
