Mumbai, May 12 -- The Khar police on Monday booked developer Bluestone Properties Pvt Ltd for negligence, a day after two trees from its construction site fell on an autorickshaw, grievously injuring two passengers-a 21-year-old woman and a 15-year-old girl. The two injured-Harshita Kumar and Aarika Shrivastava-are on ventilator support in the intensive care unit (ICU) of P D Hinduja Hospital in Khar and remain in a critical condition, family members said. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also wrote to the Khar police recommending action against the developer for allegedly dumping debris around the base of the trees-a gulmohar and a cannonball tree-causing them to "lean dangerously" towards the road before eventually collapsing. The Khar police registered an FIR against Bluestone Properties under section 125(b) and 281 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), pertaining to causing grievous hurt through rash or negligent acts. "We are investigating the case to find out who was responsible," said senior police inspector Sanjeev Dhumal. Responding to the allegations, Uday Jasani, director of Bluestone Properties, denied that construction activity had caused the trees to collapse. "The tree in question was fully protected. However, due to termites inside the tree and old age of the tree, it seems that it naturally collapsed. We have shared all relevant information with the authorities and are fully cooperating in the investigation. The tree in question was in no way impacted by the work happening at the project site. At this time our thoughts and prayers are with the two affected girls," said Jasani. According to BMC officials, Bluestone had not sought permission to cut any trees on its project site in Khar. "Instead, the developer simply started stacking up stone rubble along the tree trunk from one side. This put pressure on the trees, forcing them to tilt and fall onto the roadside towards the moving autorickshaw, harming the girls," said a BMC official. However, BMC officials said the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) would have to initiate further action, as the under-construction site is part of an SRA project that had received all necessary approvals from the authority. SRA officials, including chief executive officer Mahendra Kalyankar, did not respond to HT's queries regarding the action proposed against the developer. The incident took place on Sunday evening when Aarika Shrivastava, 15, and her sister Manaswi Shrivastava, 19, residents of Malad, had gone to visit their friend Harshita Kumar, 21, who lives in Santacruz. The three friends had stepped out in an autorickshaw for snacks in Khar when the two trees collapsed onto the vehicle near Rajkumar Jewellers on Linking Road. While the rickshaw driver and Manaswi escaped with minor injuries, Aarika and Harshita sustained severe head injuries. Police said the autorickshaw driver immediately rushed the injured girls to P D Hinduja Hospital and Research Centre for treatment, but later went missing, allegedly fearing police action. While Manaswi did come forward to lodge an FIR, the girls' families said that seeking action against the developer was not an immediate concern. "This is the least of our concerns at this point. Right now, we are only praying for the recovery of our daughters. We rushed to the site last night when we heard about the accident and are worried for them," said Aarika's uncle, SK Srivastava, at Hinduja Hospital. According to hospital authorities, both girls suffered severe head trauma, including skull fractures, and were brought to the hospital unconscious and unresponsive, following which the hospital undertook urgent surgical intervention. "The girls had clots in their brains, and surgery was done late on Sunday night to clear them. The doctors have now given us 48 hours till Tuesday evening to monitor," said Aarika's cousin, Sanyukt Saransh. The incident has raised fresh concerns about safety practices at construction sites across the city. "It was not nature at fault per se, since there were no heavy rains or strong winds at play here. The real issue here was a mismanaged construction site that could have been handled better," said civic activist Zoru Bhathena. "These are all perils of construction sites being handled incorrectly, of bad engineering practices and of incompetence and negligence. How can we expect the BMC to check trees inside various construction sites? Today, it was a tree; tomorrow, it could be a crane that falls. These are all issues of bad site management," he added. Civic officials also said that while the BMC is not responsible for trees on private properties, the gravity of the incident may prompt the civic body to begin inspecting such trees....