The All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) has called for action against the makers of Deepika Singh’s daily soap Mangal Lakshmi after a crew member was injured on the sets. As per the association, a labourer working as an electrician suffered a severe electric shock and fell from a height. The sets of the film is located in Filmcity, Goregaon.
The worker sustained serious injuries on December 6 and he is admitted to the ICU in a hospital. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), AICWA mentioned that the crew member’s family is being threatened not to speak out about the incident, with the warning that they will be denied financial support for his treatment.
AICWA claimed that efforts were made to suppress the incident, and pressure was put on the worker’s family to remain silent. “Those responsible for exerting this pressure must be held accountable, and an FIR should be lodged against them. This deliberate cover-up is as reprehensible as the negligence that led to the accident. This appalling behavior highlights the grim reality of rampant negligence in Filmcity. Despite repeated accidents and injuries to workers, no concrete action has been taken to ensure their safety or hold those responsible accountable. It is high time the government intervened to put an end to this cycle of injustice,” the AICWA wrote on X.
They also tagged the official accounts of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as well as Mumbai Police, demanding immediate and thorough investigation into the incident.
The association stated that the show’s producer, channel, and production house should be held responsible for the ‘negligence’.
Last month, Rupali Ganguly’s show Anupamaa witnessed a tragedy as one of the crew members, Vineet Kumar Mandal, who worked as a camera attendant, passed away due to electrocution. Despite immediate medical attention and being rushed to the hospital, he could not be saved. AICWA had claimed that his death was not an accident but an ‘institutionalised murder’ due to the negligence of the producers.
They also appealed to the CM to file an FIR under IPC Section 302 against the producers, the production house, the channel, the Film City managing director, and the Labour Commissioner.
AICWA ‘s official note had mentioned that Rs 1 crore compensation should be provided to the family of the deceased worker.
The makers of Mangal Lakshmi has not yet issued a formal statement. The show also features Naman Shaw, and Sanika Amit in lead roles. It premiered on Colors TV on February 27.
