Mumbai Police on Monday arrested the structural auditor of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Neeraj Kumar Desai, who had allegedly declared the Himalaya foot overbridge (FOB) safe for use while conducting the audit.
Initially, the police had detained Desai for investigation but later, arrested the structural auditor. Police have also recorded the statements of Additional BMC Commissioner Sanjay Darde along with other officials.
Six people lost their lives while 36 were left injured due to the CSMT bridge collapse. Earlier, the police had registered a case against the BMC officials under section 304 (A) – death by negligence or culpable homicide – of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The police further informed that more arrests can be made as there has been a major corruption in the matter. Desai’s company had reportedly conducted a structural audit of the collapsed bridge. The police informed that despite the shortfalls in the structure it was declared safe.
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After the incident, BMC suspended four officials on the basis of the initial investigation report on Friday evening after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a high-level inquiry into the same.