A nine-year-old boy died after he was allegedly stuck in the lift of a five-storeyed residential building in Vikaspuri area of west Delhi on March 24, the police said.

According to his family members, he got stuck between the lift doors when he pressed the button to go up. As a result, his chest got compressed between the doors while the lift was stuck between the ground and first floors, they said.

A case of negligent conduct with respect to machinery and death by negligence has been registered against unknown person under sections 287 and 304A of Indian Penal Code at the Vikaspuri police station.

According to the first information report (FIR), the police were informed about the death of a child by a private hospital in Vikaspuri. A police team reached the hospital and received the boy’s medico-legal certificate which stated that he had suffered “crush injury in a lift”.

Upon inquiry, it was learnt that the boy was the son of a washerwoman who had gone to the residential building to collect clothes. Her son came along with her but got stuck in the lift and died. The crime scene was inspected by forensic experts and the crime spot investigation team of our district. Further investigation is on,” Deputy commissioner of police (west) Ghanshyam Bansal said.

According to the boy’s family, his mother went to the upper floors using the staircase while he went to use the lift. The mother, Rekha, was unaware that her son had followed her into the building, his father Ramesh said.

“My wife went to the first, second and third floors of the building, collected clothes and returned to our shop. She asked me about our son. I told her he had followed her to the building. She and her mother rushed to the building and searched for him. They raised an alarm after finding him stuck in the lift,” said Ramesh