Lax upkeep caused lift crash that killed PATH India MD, five

Negligence in upkeep seemed to have caused the crash of an elevator which killed industrialist Puneet Agrawal and five members of his family at his farmhouse near here, the police said on Wednesday.

Agrawal (53) was founder and managing director of Prakash Asphaltings and Toll Highways (India) Ltd, also known as PATH India.

The accident took place on Tuesday evening.

Apart from him, his daughter Palak (27), her husband Palkesh (28), Agrawal's grandson Nav (3) and two relatives, Aryaveer (11) and Gaurav (40) perished in the elevator collapse.

Nidhi, another relative, sustained serious injuries.

The farmhouse is located near the Patalplani Waterfalls, some six km away from here.

The elevator was used for going to the top of a 70-ft watch-tower-like structure which was under construction, said a police official.

"It appears that negligence in the upkeep of elevator resulted in the crash," said Badgonda police station in-charge Robert Girwal.

"We have cordoned off the site and probe is on," he added.

Hundreds of people paid last respects to the industrialist and his relatives before last rites.

Agrawal and his grandson were cremated in Mhow, while others were cremated in Indore, 25 km away.

Mhow MLA Usha Thakur, Indore MLA Akash Vijayvargiya, former state minister Rajendra Shukla, MP Commercial Tax commissioner Raghvendra Singh and former MLA Jitu Jirati paid tributes to Agrawal at a condolence meeting here.