VARANASI: In a major breakthrough in
flyover collapse case as many as eight persons, including seven engineers of UP Bridge Corporation (UPBC) and a
contractor, were arrested by the crime branch of police on Saturday. Nineteen persons were killed and several others were injured when two beams of an under-construction flyover collapsed near Varanasi railway station on May 15.
The arrested persons were booked under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC and 3&4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
The arrested persons included former project manager Genda Lal of Aligarh district, then chief project manager Harishchandra Tiwari of Pratapgarh district, then project manager Kuljas Rai Sudan of Meerut district, assistant engineer (civil) Rajendra Singh of Mirzapur district, assistant engineer (mechanical safety) Ramtapasya Singh Yadav of Lucknow, junior engineer (civil) Lalchandra Singh of Chandauli district, junior engineer (civil/safety) Rajeshpal Singh of Ghazipur district and contractor Saheb Hussain of Siwan district in Bihar.
SSP Anand Kulkarni said that after investigation of the case, the crime branch arrested these persons, and they are being sent to jail.
The team of Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) had inspected the flyover site and sent a detailed report, which was the part of police investigation.
“In its report the CBRI outlined many engineering errors and irregularities in construction methodology. These persons were arrested on the basis of this report and other evidences,” said the SSP.
File image of the flyover collapse
