Cops will revisit old wall collapse cases

Cops will revisit old wall collapse cases

Pune: Making the stand of Pune police clear on Kondhwa and Ambegaon wall collapse incidents, Commissioner of Police (CP) Dr K Venkatesham on Wednesday tweeted, ‘“21 lives in 4 days.not done.”’

He elaborated steps taken by the police after these incidents. ““We have formed special teams of police officers for investigation of these homicide cases and technical help will be taken. We have also held meeting with labour commissioner for proactive steps and builders’ group to take steps. Will revisit old cases”,”  the chief added. He has sought suggestions from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).

Meanwhile, the Bharati Vidyapeeth police have launched a search for accused persons involved in the Ambegaon wall collapse incident that claimed six lives of construction labourers on Tuesday. An FIR has been registered against the land owner, developer and labour contractor, as well as manager of Sinhgad Technical Education Society’s Venutai Chavan Polytechnic and the concerned person who looks after its construction work. 

Senior Police Inspector Vishnu Pawar, in-charge of the police station, said, ““Nobody has been arrested yet. We have written to the PMC and other authorities seeking details of the construction work at the site.””

When contacted, Maruti Navale, President of Sinhgad Technical Education Society (STES), said, ““The wall that has collapsed is a 10 year-old fit and packed wall. The portion which fell was hit by a falling tree.”

“Rest of the wall is fine. However, the labourers who resided there weren’t ours. They were hired by another builder and he should have made proper living arrangements for them. Also, the builder lives near the construction site and should have been alert,” he informed.  

He also said that a routine audit of infrastructure of various colleges under the society is frequently conducted. “Sinhgad’s civil engineering department regularly conducts an inspection of all walls especially before monsoon begins,” he said.

Venkatesham further added, “The workers die because of negligence. A team led by DCP Suhas Bavache has been tasked with suggesting standard operating procedure which will be followed while registering such cases and their investigation. The team includes a lawyer, police inspector as well as a structural engineer.”

Six construction site workers, including two women, were killed when the retaining wall of STES at the Vadgaon campus adjoining Ambegaon, caved in along with a huge tree and fell on some hutments around Monday midnight. Earlier on Saturday, 15 labourers were killed in killed in Kondhwa when a retaining wall fell on their makeshift hutments.

Steps taken

  • The Bharati Vidyapeeth police have launched a search for accused involved in the Ambegaon wall collapse.  
  • The CP informed. “We have formed special teams of police officers for investigation of these homicide cases. Will revisit old cases,”   he added. 

Enjoyed reading The Bridge Chronicle?
Your support motivates us to do better. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay updated with the latest stories.
You can also read on the go with our Android and iOS mobile app.

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
The Bridge Chronicle
www.thebridgechronicle.com