Mumbai, February 21 The Mumbai police on Saturday opposed the anticipatory bail plea of two executives of a construction firm in connection with the collapse of a parapet segment on an under-construction metro rail line on February 14, stating that they were responsible for ensuring safety measures at the site.
A portion of a concrete parapet on Line 4 collapsed onto moving traffic in Mulund, resulting in one death and three serious injuries. Following this, the police registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, mischief causing damage, and acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention.
Fearing arrest in the case, Alpesh Patel (managing partner) and Ganesh Gholap (technical director) of Milan Road Buildtech LLP, the firm building the line, moved for anticipatory bail before the sessions court, claiming that they had no direct role in the fieldwork and were falsely implicated in the case.
Their plea, filed through advocate Suvarna Vast, claimed that the site supervisor had specifically instructed the welder not to touch the hooks of the un-concretized precast parapet. They alleged that the welder ignored these orders, causing the collapse, and subsequently fled the scene.
The company maintained that its project director and other senior staff immediately rushed to the spot to assist the victims and cooperated with the police investigation.
However, the police, in their written response to the plea, stated that the duo was responsible for ensuring safety measures at the site.
If granted bail, they may not cooperate with the investigation or appear in court proceedings, the police told the court.
The applicants were summoned on February 16 to appear in court the following day with necessary documents but failed to show up, indicating that they were evading the investigation, the police further said.
In their reply, the police said that their interrogation is essential to understand the safety lapses in the project.
Maintaining that it was a grave offence, the police said that the incident has caused significant public anger, creating a potential law and order issue.
The police also opposed the pre-arrest bail plea of project consultant T Sai Suresh Kumar.
The investigation has revealed that officials from Milan Road Buildtech and DB Hill-LBG allegedly installed the parapets without performing essential concreting, the police said.
They claimed that the accused were fully aware that this shortcut could cause the heavy structures to fall on people below but "deliberately" proceeded with the work and failed to notify safety agencies.
The matter will be next heard on February 25.
