Indore temple tragedy: Authorities demolish illegal structure following fatal collapse of stepwell floor where 36 died
Indore Municipal Corporation fills temple stepwell with building materials and demolishes illegal structure.
The Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) has taken action to prevent future accidents at the Beleshwar Jhulelal Mahadev Temple, where 36 people lost their lives after the floor of the stepwell caved in during a Havan on March 30. On Monday, the IMC demolished the illegal construction at the temple and filled the stepwell with building materials. The IMC acted to remove the illegal structure of the temple, which was constructed by encroaching on garden land in Sneh Nagar. Around 200 officers of Municipal Corporation and District Administration were deployed on the spot to ensure safety.
The authorities removed the idols according to rituals before demolishing the illegal construction, which occupied 1000 square metres of both the old and under-construction temples. The authorities also removed illegal constructions on stepwells in other parts of the city to prevent such an incident from occurring again.
The demolition was carried out peacefully, and the police stopped Bajrang Dal workers who came to protest the removal of the temple construction. Some local people also reached the site to protest, but the police convinced them to draw back.
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According to Additional Commissioner of Indore Municipal Corporation, Siddharth Jain, the action was taken to ensure safety for the future. The illegal construction has been removed, and the old temple built on the stepwell and the new under-construction temple located nearby it were also removed.
The authorities have also ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and registered an FIR against the President and Secretary of the temple trust under IPC section 304 for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The injured will be treated free of cost, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the ex-gratia amount to the victims. The authorities have ordered an inspection of such step-wells and borewells across the state.
(With inputs from ANI)