Bengaluru hospital wall collapse: FIR registered against contractor
Bengaluru- A month after the wall collapse at the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital complex that claimed seven lives, the police have registered an FIR against a contractor and his company on charges including causing death due to negligence.
The case was filed based on a complaint lodged by Chandru, Executive Engineer of the Health and Family Welfare Engineering Wing, located at Arogya Soudha.
According to the TH news report, the complaint stated that the work of demolishing old buildings at the designated site, for the construction of the new nursing college and research institute building of the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital Medical College and Research Institute, was entrusted to Chennai-based ASR Traders in 2017.
However, it has been alleged that the contractor failed to scientifically remove and dispose of the demolished structures and debris; instead, he abandoned them at the site itself, which allegedly led to this accident.
The complaint further alleged that the senior government officials who inspected the site found serious flaws in the security and demolition procedures, and recommended criminal action against the contractor for negligence and violation of safety norms.
Therefore, based on the complaint, the Karnataka government had constituted a technical committee to investigate this matter. Based on its findings, a complaint has now been registered, and the Chennai-based ASR Traders have been named in the FIR.
Following an inspection of the Bowring Hospital premises by senior government officials, the officials identified serious irregularities and recommended criminal action against the contractor.
Meanwhile, officials stated that a notice seeking an explanation was sent to the contractor via email on May 14, and the firm was directed to respond by May 18. However, officials claim that no response was received from the firm.
The police have now initiated legal action, and further investigation into this incident is underway.
