The city police are all set to file an 1100-page chargesheet in the metro pillar accident case which killed a mother-son duo on Outer Ring Road (ORR) on January 10. The reinforcement of an under-construction metro pier collapsed on a moving scooter killing the pillion rider Tejaswini L., Sulakhe, and her 2.5-year-old son Vihan L., Sulakhe, while the woman’s husband and daughter escaped unhurt.
The chargesheet, likely to be filed in the court on Saturday or Monday, lists nine accused - six from Nagarjuna Constructions Company (NCC) Ltd, the firm that holds the contract of the K. R. Puram - KIA line, and three from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) officials, charging them for causing death due to negligence under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code.
Those listed as accused in the case are, the contractor NCC Ltd, Joint Director Prabhakar, Director Chaitanya, Senior Project Manager Mathai, Project Manager Prakash Singh, and Supervisor Lakshmipathi of NCC Ltd, and three BMRCL officials Chief Engineer Venkatesh Shetty, Executive Engineer Mahesh Bandekari, and Joint Engineer Jaffer Sadiq.
The city police had roped in Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, and Indian Institute of Science for the technical probe into the accident, reports of which are now part of the chargesheet. IIT Hyderabad report found lack of adequate support, and improper design of the reinforcing structure for the under-construction metro pillars as responsible for the accident.
Following the accident, BMRCL shifted to two-stage reinforcement for under-construction metro piers, taller than 12 metres, based on their height to ensure safety. Earlier, BMRCL used to build a one metre high concrete base on which reinforcements for pillars as high as even 12 - 23 metres were erected.
