Pune: National Commission For Scheduled Castes Issues Show Cause Notice In Nigdi BSNL Workers’ Death Case
Pune: National Commission For Scheduled Castes Issues Show Cause Notice In Nigdi BSNL Workers' Death Case
Pune, August 19, 2025: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has taken serious note of the tragic deaths of three BSNL contract workers in Nigdi and issued show cause notices to top officials, including the Pimpri-Chinchwad police commissioner, municipal commissioner, Pune district collector, and BSNL’s general manager.
Exercising its powers under Article 338 of the Constitution , the NCSC has initiated an inquiry and directed the authorities to submit an action taken report (ATR) . The notice, dated August 18, warned that failure to respond may invite further legal action, including summons.
The incident took place on August 15 near Nirmal Villa in Nigdi Pradhikaran, where four workers were engaged in underground maintenance of a BSNL optic fiber duct. According to police, three of them— Lakhan Asruba Dhavare (35), Dattatray Vijaykumar Honale (35), and Sahebrao Sambhaji Girshete (35) —allegedly died of suffocation inside a 10×10-foot duct chamber partially filled with stagnant water. A fourth worker, Babasaheb Ambadas Wagh (52) , remained outside and raised an alarm, alerting emergency services.
The victims were rushed to Lokmanya Hospital, Nigdi , but were declared dead on arrival. Initial findings suggest the presence of toxic gases inside the chamber triggered the tragedy when Girshete first collapsed and the others rushed to help.
The Nigdi police have registered an accidental death (AD) case , while forensic and legal probes are underway to determine the exact cause and whether safety norms were violated during the maintenance work.
