- Tuesday, April 22, 2025
The US-based Sanjay Shah succumbed to his injuries while the president of the company, who was also with him in the cage that collapsed, was battling for life. The incident happened at an event to mark the firm’s silver jubilee.
By: Shubham Ghosh
IN a shocking incident in which a stage plan turned into a tragedy, a US-based Indian tech chief and founder of a multinational software company lost his life and its president seriously injured when an iron cage contraption carrying them overturned during a corporate event.
The incident happened at Ramoji Film City (RFC) in Hyderabad in the southern Indian state of Telangana on Thursday (18) night. The event was being held to mark the silver jubilee of Vistex Asia-Pacific Private Limited.
The CEO, Sanjay Shah, 56, succumbed to his injuries in a hospital in the city while Vishwanath Raju Datla, the president, was battling for his life.
The tragedy took place when the cage in which the duo were was being lowered onto the stage of the event through ropes and pulleys by a rolling machine, the Times of India reported. The act was to begin the company’s silver jubilee anniversary. Hundreds of people were present to witness the programme. As one of the two wires attached to the cage got snapped, it overturned, throwing the two men on the ground below in no time. Music was being played at the time and the two men were waving at their company staff members.
Sanjay Shah, the 56-year-old CEO and founder of the software company, Vistex Asia, died when an aerial act went wrong during the company’s 25th anniversary celebrations at Ramoji Film City in #Hyderabad on Thursday evening. pic.twitter.com/y2dYCcNUdv
— Surya Reddy (@jsuryareddy) January 20, 2024
“Shah and Raju being lowered from the cage onto the dias was a planned event to kickstart the celebrations.” an official of Vistex said, according to the news outlet.
The company had also booked rooms for its employees at RFC and had plans to hold the celebrations over two days.
Shah and Datla were immediately rushed to a local hospital and shifted to a corporate hospital later. The former never recovered.
A case was registered under sections 304A (causing death by a rash or negligent act) and 336 (endangering human life or personal safety of others). Among those who were booked are the RFC management officials, its senior event manager, chief manager of security, the contractor for special effects and the operator of the rope, the report added.
Shah, who was originally from Mumbai, set up Vistex, a revenue management solutions and services company, in 1999. It has among its clients big brands such as Coca Cola, Dell, Siemens, Adobe, Dow, and others. The company has around 1,600 employees and a turnover of nearly $300 million.
