48 hrs after boy dies, it's biz as usual at Juhu hotel

MUMBAI: It's business as usual for the Juhu hotel where seven-year-old Aditya Dube died after falling from the sixth floor when the acrylic tiles he was standing on caved in. The tragedy took place on Saturday night. But 48 hours later, the only sign of the accident is a barricade and a board reading 'Children must not climb the fence'. While waiters studiously avoided the spot, security personnel recorded the mobile phone numbers of all patrons.The management has yet to come up with a permanent solution.
That night, while the Dubes were at the Ramee Guestline's hotel 'It's Mirchi', Aditya fell to his death when he stepped on an acrylic sheet that gave way. There was no signage or warning to alert patrons.
"I will never forgive myself for letting my child out of my sight," said a sobbing marine superintendent Paritosh Dube, while staring at the cricket bat and ball lying untouched on his son's bed. Every Sunday, Aditya would wake his father up so they could play cricket together. Paritosh's wife Mugdha and daughter Isha (13) are still in a state of shock, refusing to believe their little Adi is no more. Talkative, hyperactive and very fond of food, Aditya was the baby in the Dube household and everyone's pet. Paritosh fondly called him 'dude', much to the boy's delight.
As the news of the tragedy spread, there's been a steady flow of friends at the family's house in Vasant Galaxy Complex at Goregaon.
"Ten minutes before he fell, Adi was running around the restaurant," says one of the friends who had accompanied the Dube family that night. "The children were playing hide-and-seek and we were having dinner. As the restaurant was enclosed and covered, there was nothing to warn us that it was unsafe."
It was when Aditya chose the area between a sofa and a glass wall as his hiding place—something most kids would instinctively do—that the tragedy took place. The floor in that part of the restaurant was made of a sheet of acrylic tiles, supported by a wooden frame. As soon as Aditya crawled behind the sofa, the flimsy tiles gave way. "There should have been some sign saying the place was dangerous or the area should have been cordoned off," says the friend.
It was only when the group asked for the bill that they noticed Aditya's absence. "We started looking for him and presumed he had slipped out of the door unnoticed," said another diner. Paritosh was questioning the security guard at the door when a couple sitting on the sofa behind where the incident took place said they had heard some sound behind them. After taking one look at the gaping hole in the floor, Paritosh realised something had gone terribly wrong and ran down six floors, only to find the female bouncer of the hotel's Rock Bottom pub rushing out saying she'd heard a loud thud. Aditya's body was discovered lying on the roof. He was unconscious and bleeding profusely. Paritosh and his wife rushed their son to Bharatiya Arogya Nidhi Hospital where the doctors tried to revive his pulse. He was pronounced dead half an hour later.
Meanwhile, the Juhu police who had registered a case under IPC Section 304-A (death by negligence) against the hotel management and manager, spent Monday recording the statements of hotel staff and collecting evidence.
Senior police inspector of Juhu police station, Deepak Katkade said: "We have recorded the statements of six people including a hotel staffer. The process will continue for a couple of days after which we will take necessary action."