By U Sudhakar Reddy Criminal negligence on the part of civic authorities should not go unpunished.
Accordingly, the police is booking cases against erring officials in cases like the Bholakpur tragedy and Punjagutta flyover collapse.
There is a clear case of criminal negligence underlying each of the many tragedies that have recently occurred in the state.
The cholera outbreak, a flyover collapse, train mishaps... in each case there has been criminal negligence on the part of civic authorities and government officials.
The police department, which earlier shied away from booking such cases, has finally shaken off its reluctance and is charging erring officials under relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Legal experts are optimistic that booking a case of “negligence leading to death” against the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB), for the death of 13 persons at Bholakpur, will go a long way in the fight against “civic negligence.” Police had earlier filed chargesheets against the accused officials in the Valigonda train mishap, which claimed 116 lives, and the Panjagutta flyover collapse case. In an encouraging development, police has now registered cases related to the Bholakpur deaths as well as the Kurnool highway bridge collapse. In the Bholakpur case, for the first time the police is insisting on a postmortem examination.
The CCS police booked a case of negligence under Sections that deal with actions of officials endangering public safety and leading to infection.
The Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM), the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases as well as the report by the GHMC revealed that water contaminated with faecal matter led to diarrhoea cases and the outbreak of diseases like cholera. Supreme Court senior advocate and Padma Bhushan award winner Mr P.P. Rao said, “The water board is supposed to supply clean and treated potable water. If they fail in their duty, not only individual officials, but also the civic body can be treated as accused and sued.” The Central Crime Station (CCS) sleuths, who are also probing the September 9, 2007 Panjagutta flyover collapse case, filed a chargesheet against the contractors, as well as senior employees of the water board. CCS detective department inspector of police, Mr S. Sarath Kumar, the investigating official in the Panjagutta flyover collapse case said, “The chargesheet was filed against the accused under Section 304 A (negligent act leading to death) 336, 337 and 338 for causing injuries due to the collapse of the under-construction flyover.” CCS officials collected substantial evidence against Gammon India Limited, Tanikella Integrated Consultants and also the water board in the Panjagutta case.
Investigations found that the water board officials had dug up trenches on the road on which the flyover was under construction. The GHMC had directed the water board to fill the excavated trenches with stone quarry dust, as a standard procedure.
However, the officials filled them with loose soil, and the site was handed over to the construction agency without proper compacting.
The accident occurred due to sliding of pre-case cement segments onto the road after a heavy downpour. In spite of intermittent rains during the period, Gammon India and TIC failed to take proper precautions to prevent rain water from entering the construction site.
The enquiry by technical experts revealed that the accident occurred due to the negligence of Gammon, TIC and the water board. The Gammon India Limited AGM, Mr T.N.V.S. Ratnaji; site engineer, Mr Sanjay Bhattacharjee; TIC project manager, Mr B.S.R. Laxman Rao; quality assurance and project engineer, Mr G.S.N. Madhusudhana Rao; HMWS&SB Circle-2 DGM, Mr M. Dharma Reddy and manager, Mr M Brijesh, were all charged by the police for criminal negligence.
Senior advocate of AP High Court, Mr C. Mallesh Rao said “In death cases similar to Bholakpur or the Panjagutta incident, police has to take cognisance of whether the act was willfully or intentionally done.
Civic authorities were fully aware that a mixture of water and faecal matter would result in a disease outbreak. Despite being conscious of the consequences, they didn’t do their duty.” Instead, the complaints by the locals about contaminated water were ignored. In the Bholakpur case there is ample evidence available with the police. Officials always try to blame natural calamities and pass off “deaths due to negligence” as natural deaths. In the 2005 Valigonda train mishap, which claimed the lives of 116 passengers of the Repalle Delta Passenger coming to Secunderabad — the mishap occurred due to alleged negligence of railway officials. Government Railway Police filed a case against the gang-man and the permanent way inspec tor who failed to guard the railway track which was washed away in the floods.
Secunderabad railway district superintendent of police, Mr Venugopala Rao said, “The case is now in trail. Witnesses are being examined in court.”
Accordingly, the police is booking cases against erring officials in cases like the Bholakpur tragedy and Punjagutta flyover collapse.
There is a clear case of criminal negligence underlying each of the many tragedies that have recently occurred in the state.
The cholera outbreak, a flyover collapse, train mishaps... in each case there has been criminal negligence on the part of civic authorities and government officials.
The police department, which earlier shied away from booking such cases, has finally shaken off its reluctance and is charging erring officials under relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Legal experts are optimistic that booking a case of “negligence leading to death” against the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB), for the death of 13 persons at Bholakpur, will go a long way in the fight against “civic negligence.” Police had earlier filed chargesheets against the accused officials in the Valigonda train mishap, which claimed 116 lives, and the Panjagutta flyover collapse case. In an encouraging development, police has now registered cases related to the Bholakpur deaths as well as the Kurnool highway bridge collapse. In the Bholakpur case, for the first time the police is insisting on a postmortem examination.
The CCS police booked a case of negligence under Sections that deal with actions of officials endangering public safety and leading to infection.
The Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM), the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases as well as the report by the GHMC revealed that water contaminated with faecal matter led to diarrhoea cases and the outbreak of diseases like cholera. Supreme Court senior advocate and Padma Bhushan award winner Mr P.P. Rao said, “The water board is supposed to supply clean and treated potable water. If they fail in their duty, not only individual officials, but also the civic body can be treated as accused and sued.” The Central Crime Station (CCS) sleuths, who are also probing the September 9, 2007 Panjagutta flyover collapse case, filed a chargesheet against the contractors, as well as senior employees of the water board. CCS detective department inspector of police, Mr S. Sarath Kumar, the investigating official in the Panjagutta flyover collapse case said, “The chargesheet was filed against the accused under Section 304 A (negligent act leading to death) 336, 337 and 338 for causing injuries due to the collapse of the under-construction flyover.” CCS officials collected substantial evidence against Gammon India Limited, Tanikella Integrated Consultants and also the water board in the Panjagutta case.
Investigations found that the water board officials had dug up trenches on the road on which the flyover was under construction. The GHMC had directed the water board to fill the excavated trenches with stone quarry dust, as a standard procedure.
However, the officials filled them with loose soil, and the site was handed over to the construction agency without proper compacting.
The accident occurred due to sliding of pre-case cement segments onto the road after a heavy downpour. In spite of intermittent rains during the period, Gammon India and TIC failed to take proper precautions to prevent rain water from entering the construction site.
The enquiry by technical experts revealed that the accident occurred due to the negligence of Gammon, TIC and the water board. The Gammon India Limited AGM, Mr T.N.V.S. Ratnaji; site engineer, Mr Sanjay Bhattacharjee; TIC project manager, Mr B.S.R. Laxman Rao; quality assurance and project engineer, Mr G.S.N. Madhusudhana Rao; HMWS&SB Circle-2 DGM, Mr M. Dharma Reddy and manager, Mr M Brijesh, were all charged by the police for criminal negligence.
Senior advocate of AP High Court, Mr C. Mallesh Rao said “In death cases similar to Bholakpur or the Panjagutta incident, police has to take cognisance of whether the act was willfully or intentionally done.
Civic authorities were fully aware that a mixture of water and faecal matter would result in a disease outbreak. Despite being conscious of the consequences, they didn’t do their duty.” Instead, the complaints by the locals about contaminated water were ignored. In the Bholakpur case there is ample evidence available with the police. Officials always try to blame natural calamities and pass off “deaths due to negligence” as natural deaths. In the 2005 Valigonda train mishap, which claimed the lives of 116 passengers of the Repalle Delta Passenger coming to Secunderabad — the mishap occurred due to alleged negligence of railway officials. Government Railway Police filed a case against the gang-man and the permanent way inspec tor who failed to guard the railway track which was washed away in the floods.
Secunderabad railway district superintendent of police, Mr Venugopala Rao said, “The case is now in trail. Witnesses are being examined in court.”
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