Amid allegations of bodies being handed over to relatives after charging Rs 300 at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Hospital mortuary, the Yogi Adityanath government ordered for the suspension of four senior officials, including the Chief Project Manager, in connection with Tuesday’s over-bridge collapse tragedy in Varanasi. An FIR was also lodged against UP Bridge Corporation Limited, its officials and contractors.
At least 18 persons were killed and 25 others were injured under the debris when two beams of the under-construction flyover came crashing after a pillar gave way on Tuesday evening.
The Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who is also PWD Minister, took the action after reaching Varanasi late Tuesday night. Those who have been placed under suspension included Chief Project Manager H.C. Tiwari, Project Manager KR Sudan, Assistant Engineer Rajendra Singh and Junior Engineer Lal Chand.
All the four suspended officers were looking after the construction of the flyover. An FIR was also lodged against them and UP Bridge Corporation Limited under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the IPC at the Sigra Police Station in Varanasi.
“We will fix responsibility and initiate strict against those found guilty,” assured the PWD Minister.
Relatives at the BHU Hospital mortuary alleged that they were forced to pay off a bribe of Rs 200 to 300 by the staff there for handing over bodies after the post mortem when a video containing visuals of a sweeper taking money got viral in the social media.
“We waited the whole night at the mortuary for post mortem and completing the paper work for compensation. We were shocked when staff at the mortuary demanded Rs 300 for handing over the body of my brother,” alleged Sunil Kumar, brother of a victim.
Initially, the BHU Hospital authorities and district admiistration denied the charge but later they ordered a probe and suspended the sweeper. “An inquiry has been ordered to look into the charges. The sweeper has been suspended and an FIR has been lodged against him,” said District Magistrate Yogeshwar Ram Mishra.
Meanwhile, the three-member probe committee, led by R.P. Singh, visited the accident site along with forensic team. They also used a drone camera to take aerial shots of the under-construction fly-over. To their shock, the probe team found that beams at many places were placed without inter-locking.
They also took samples of the construction material and iron bars being used in the construction of the flyover to check its quality. Prima facie, the team found negligence on part of the construction agency and contractors for allowing traffic under the flyover when the construction was on.
