Nagpur Rural Police book engineers, contractors after two road accidents kill seven
Nagpur Rural Police have named government engineers and contractors as accused in two cases where road defects led to accidents that killed seven people.
Unfinished road work, potholes and neglect of safety measures are proving fatal in Nagpur district. After such accidents, the vehicle driver is usually held responsible.
This time, Nagpur Rural Police Superintendent of Police Harsh Poddar has taken a tough step. Seven people died in two accidents caused by defects in the road. The police have now directly named as accused the government engineers and contractors who were responsible for ensuring road safety.
The two cases have been registered at the Butibori and Umred police stations. The police investigation found that the necessary safety measures were not taken while the roads were being built. In some places, road markings and delineators had not been put up, and in others dangerous potholes were not filled despite being known.
In the accident on the Umred-Bhiwapur road, potholes were found to be the cause. Notably, the department concerned had already been informed of the poor and hazardous condition of the road. The Public Works Department had also been written to about filling the potholes and putting safety measures in place on the accident-prone stretch.
Despite this, the potholes remained and no safety arrangements were made. Junior Engineer Sachin Aawale and Seth Construction have been named as co-accused in this case.
The second accident took place on the MIDC-Butibori road in Butibori. The police found that the road did not have adequate road markings and delineators. Metro work is also under way on the same road. According to the police, the maintenance of the metro and the road was being carried out under GR Infraprojects Limited.
Investigating officer Police Inspector Nishant Meshram took a serious view of the lack of safety measures. He registered a case against Manisha Sunil Akulwar, Assistant Engineer of the MIDC division, and Ashish Lodhi, the company's project manager. Action has been taken against both under Sections 281 and 106(1) of the BNS and the relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.
