Published 14:32 IST, December 18th 2019
Mumbai foot-over bridge collapse: Bombay HC grants bail to structural auditor & 3 others
The Bombay HC on Wednesday granted bail to structural auditor Neeraj Desai and 3 former BMC engineers in connection with the collapse of a foot-over bridge.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to structural auditor Neeraj Desai and three former Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) engineers SF Kakulte, AR Patil, Shitlaprada Kori in connection with the collapse of the foot-over bridge near Mumbai’s iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus station. They were released on a bail bond of Rs.50,000 each. The bridge collapsed on the evening of March 14, 2019, killing 7 people and injuring nearly 30 people.
BMC was responsible for maintaining the bridge
The foot-over bridge connected the north end of the CSMT station to the BT Lane. As per the police, a huge portion of the bridge fell on DN Road leading to the north-bound traffic on JJ flyover being severely affected. Devendra Fadnavis, the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra announced an ex-gratia aid of Rs.5 lakh to the family of the deceased and Rs.50,000 to each injured person. The bridge, constructed more than three decades ago, was being maintained by the BMC.
Faulty structural audit work
The BMC’s preliminary report on the collapse of the bridge pinned the blame on the faulty structural audit work in 2017-18. Desai, the director of Associated Engineering Consultant and Analyst Private Limited was the first person to be arrested in the case. Responsible for overseeing repairs and audit, he had certified in 2018 that the bridge was in a “good condition”. On the other hand, Kakulte had supervised the repair work in 2013-14 while Patil had supervised the structural audit work in 2017-18. Kori, the retired chief engineer was accused of negligence.
Updated 16:32 IST, December 18th 2019