Technician Nandalal Shridhar Gawale (32) was caught between the wall and the moving lift between the third and fourth floor of the building. Gawale was a resident of Kivale on Dehu Road. The Deccan Gymkhana police have registered an accidental death case.

Police said Gawale was working for Asian Elevators that looks after the maintenance of the lifts at the college. There are two lifts in the 11-storey building of Symbiosis College. Gawale was testing a lift that was not working since Thursday.

Police said Gawale was working on the top of the lift, when it started moving upwards from third to fourth floor at around 2.15 pm. Gawale shouted for help in response to which the college staff rushed to the spot and found Gawale caught between the lift and wall of the building.

The college staff called the fire brigade, police and Vitthal Suryawanshi, director of Asian Elevators. The fire brigade and workers of Asian Elevators pulled out Gawale and rushed him to a private hospital at around 3.15 pm where he was announced dead on arrival.

Suryawanshi said he immediately went to Symbiosis College along with his employees after receiving the call. “We don’t know how Gawale was caught between the wall and lift. But he had received a major injury on head that might have caused his death on the spot,” he said.

“Gawale was working with us for last two months on temporary basis. We had asked him and another technician Ramesh Kadam to check the lift at Symbiosis. While Kadam was about to reach the college, Gawale already started testing the lift with the help of a liftman. He checked the lift on first three floors, but was caught while moving on the fourth floor,” he added.

Vidya Yerwadekar, principal director of Symbiosis College, said, “We have given annual maintenance contract of the lifts to Asian Elevators. A lift was not working since Thursday. So the workers of Asian Elevators had come to check the lift. We don’t know what went wrong.”