A police case has been registered against the construction company that built the water overhead tank that collapsed killing two women and injuring 11 others in Mathura on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, a probe by a high-powered committee has been ordered into the incident. The tank collapsed just three years after it was built in 2021.
Also, Mathura MP Hema Malini has raised the issue with chief minister Yogi Adityanath seeking action against the people responsible. The tank collapsed in just
Section 304 (causing death by doing rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide) and Section 338 (causing grievous hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life) of the Indian Penal Code was invoked in the case registered at the Kotwali police station of Mathura on Monday after a complaint was lodged by a Jal Nigam official.
Expressing grief over the incident, the chief minister has sought a report after which a probe by a high-powered committee was ordered. Ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh for each of the two deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured was announced.
M/s SM Construction, M/s Banwari (both from Agra) and M/s Trilok Singh from Almora (Uttarakhand) were named in the FIR. Others connected to the construction and maintenance of the tank in 2021, who were yet to be identified, were also booked.
{{/usCountry}}M/s SM Construction, M/s Banwari (both from Agra) and M/s Trilok Singh from Almora (Uttarakhand) were named in the FIR. Others connected to the construction and maintenance of the tank in 2021, who were yet to be identified, were also booked.
{{/usCountry}}The FIR also highlighted that negligence on the part of government officials could not be ruled out. However, none were named in it.
Meanwhile, disciplinary action was initiated against several Jal Nigam officials. While assistant engineer Lalit Mohan and junior engineers Shobhit Kumar, Birendra Pal and Ravindra Pratap Singh were suspended, an inquiry was initiated against then-assistant engineer Divyanshu Kumar Singh.
Further action against executive engineers Maharaj Singh, Kumkum Gangwar, Dayanand Sharma and Ram Prakash Yadav has been recommended.
Also, the Jal Nigam chief engineer of the Ghaziabad Zone will chair the inquiry committee formed to probe the incident. The committee will collaborate with reputed institutes such as IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur to examine the technical deficiencies that led to the collapse.
“An investigation has begun into the incident and action will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation,” said Amit Chauhan, the station in-charge.
The FIR states that the accused were assigned the work for the overhead water tank of 2,500 KL capacity, besides two underground tanks, under the Mathura Reconstituted Water Scheme. An agreement regarding the same was entered on January 22, 2019.
The project was completed on November 30, 2021 and handed over to the Nagar Nigam at Mathura and Vrindavan on January 16, 2023.
Hema Malini termed it an unfortunate incident and took up the issue with the chief minister, said Janardan, an associate of the MP.
Two women died and eleven people were injured after getting trapped in the debris of that water tank at Krishna Vihar Colony of Mathura on Sunday evening. The rescue operation and relief work continued till Monday morning.
In the aftermath of the collapse, the locality complained of water scarcity. Several houses and vehicles were also damaged in the incident.
Confirming the two deaths, district magistrate Shailendra Singh said, “Mathura was receiving rain on Sunday evening when the water tank in Krishna Vihar Colony fell. Thirteen people were injured among whom two died. Others are under treatment, and one has been referred to SN Medical College and Hospital at Agra.”
“The rescue operation continued all through the night on Sunday with assistance from the army unit in Mathura, fire officials and disaster management team,” the DM added.
It is said that locals had opposed the construction of the tank. Some had complained of the poor quality of materials used in its construction due to incidents of leakages from the tank.
BJP MLA from Mathura and former energy minister Shrikant Sharma assured that the police investigation would lead to action against those responsible.
The Samajwadi Party has expressed grief over the incident and sought compensation of ₹one crore for each of the two deceased and ₹25 lakh for each injured.