CSMT bridge collapse: One BMC engineer sent to police custody till 5 April, another to appear before court tomorrow

An assistant civic engineer has been sent to police custody till 5 April by a magistrate court in Mumbai in connection with the foot overbridge collapse near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) station, according to ANI. Assistant engineer with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) SF Kakulte, who works with the civic body’s bridges department, was arrested on Monday by the Azad Maidan police after being interrogated. Kakulte was booked under Indian Penal Code section 304A (causing death by negligence), PTI reported. [caption id=“attachment_6262841” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The collapsed CSMT foot overbridge. PTI[/caption] Executive engineer AR Patil, who was earlier suspended by civic chief Ajoy Mehta was also arrested and will be produced before a court on Wednesday. “The accused Anil Patil was arrested by Azad Maidan police this (Tuesday) evening. He worked with the bridges department of the civic body between September 2014 and December 2018,” DCP, Zone I, Abhishek Trimukhe told PTI. The DCP said both the engineers were aware that such incidents (like bridge collapse) might happen, but acted negligently. “During our investigation it came to light that they had knowledge of their job and due to their negligence the incident took place,” the DCP said. Earlier, structural auditor Neeraj Kumar Desai, who had allegedly given clearance for the use of the bridge, was booked under Section 304-II of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and arrested on 18 March. The 40-year-old Himalaya foot over bridge, which connects the Times of India building with the iconic CSMT station collapsed on 14 March, resulting in the death of six people and injuring 31 others. According to PTI, a preliminary report into the collapse submitted by the BMC had said the structural audit of the foot overbridge was not carried out correctly. It suggested major lapses when the structural audit of the FOB was carried out on 13 August, 2018. The Bombay High Court on Tuesday called the incident an ‘eye-opener’ and directed the BMC to formulate a new policy for the audit, repair and upkeep of rail and foot overbridges and to consider handing over the audit of some these structures with high footfalls to agencies like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). The high court also asked the civic body to strengthen criteria of awarding tenders to contractors. The court was hearing a plea that sought, among other things, that the BMC cancel all structural audit contracts given to the firm DD Desai, which had audited the foot overbridge that collapsed.