New Delhi: Five people have been arrested and a Rs 5 crore fine imposed on the contractor after a metro pillar segment collapse in Mumbai’s Mulund area killed one person and injured three others on Saturday. A probe has also been ordered and the work has been halted at the affected stretch.
The incident occurred around 12.20 pm on LBS Road when a parapet portion of an under-construction elevated Metro Line 4 corridor gave way and fell on vehicles passing below, including an autorickshaw and a car.
Deceased was visiting Mumbai
The deceased was identified as Ramdhani Yadav (46), a village sarpanch from Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur district who was visiting Mumbai. He was seated in the rear of the autorickshaw when the concrete structure fell. The autorickshaw driver Rajkumar Yadav (45) suffered critical injuries and was admitted to the intensive care unit of a Mulund hospital. Another passenger, Mahendra Pratap Yadav (52), and car driver Deepa Ruhiya (40) were also injured and are reported to be stable.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) said it has fined contractor Reliance Infrastructure–Astaldi Joint Venture (RAJV) and its sub-contractor Milan Road Buildtech LLP a combined Rs 5 crore. A general consultant consortium — DB Engineering & Consulting, Hill International Inc and Louis Berger Consulting Private Limited — was separately fined Rs 1 crore.
Police said those arrested include four Milan Road Buildtech LLP executives — project director Harish Chauhan, project manager Kuldeep Sapkal, deputy project manager Saurab Singh and supervisor Prashant Bhoir — and Hill International Inc project manager Avdhoot Inamdar.
Detailed inquiry ordered by CM Fadnavis
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a detailed inquiry and announced Rs 5 lakh financial assistance for the deceased’s family, adding that the state government and MMRDA would bear the medical expenses of the injured. He also directed immediate safety audits of similar construction sites.
Deputy chief minister and urban development minister Eknath Shinde ordered strict action against those responsible. An MMRDA executive engineer, Satyajeet Salve, has been suspended pending investigation.