Pandu died after falling from a building being constructed at the Sahajanand Society in Kothrud as a part of the Springfield residential project by Sharda Construction Company around 1 pm on Tuesday. His body lay unclaimed at the Sassoon hospital mortuary for over 24 hours as his relatives claimed that they did not have money for shifting him to his native place, Modipur village in Mehboobnagar district of Andhra Pradesh.

Within a few hours after his death, Pandu's brother Shankar and chairman of the Bandhkam Kamgar Sabha Nana Kshirsagar started accusing the Yerawada-based petty contractor who employed the mason, and the officials from the Sharda ConstructionCompany of having adopted an apathetic attitude.

By early Wednesday morning, about 200 labourers led by Vyankat Rathod, and workers of the Bandhkam Kamgar Sabha and Dalit Kobra gathered at the Sassoon Hospital mortuary. They staged demonstrations in front of the offices of the district collector and Pune's police commissioner to demand action against the contractor and Sharda Construction Company officials.

They also submitted a memorandum to resident district collector Tukaram Pawar and assistant commissioner of police Suresh Kamlakar to the effect.

The relatives started the formalities of claiming Pandu's body around 2 pm, only after the project supervisor Mukund Deshpande and public relations officer of Megapolice Developers Vyankatesh Kesarikar gave them the ambulance fare and Rs 12,000 to carry out the funeral on humanitarian grounds. They also promised the agitated relatives that the company would later pay a compensation to Pandu's relatives.

Vyankat Rathod said Pandu lost his balance and fellwhile plastering the inside wall of a staircase linking the eighth and ninth floors of the building.Kisan Pawar, a construction worker, who was working with the mason when the mishap occurred, said Pandu was immediately rushed to Sassoon hospital by contractor Abdul Shakur Ansari and site supervisor Sanjay Bhilare.

Nana Kshirsagar alleged that the company officials left under the garb of summoning their superiors and did not return after dumping Pandu's body at the hospital.Mukund Deshpande, admitted that the senior officials of the company could not reach the hospital till this morning due to some unavoidable circumstances.

He said all labourers working at the project had been provided with safety belts and ropes and adequate precaution was taken while plastering the outer walls. Deshpande said precautions were not taken in this case probably because Pandu was plastering the inside wall.