TAKING a firm stand against road accidents caused by poor safety measures during the ongoing road work, Nagpur Rural police havebooked Government engineers and contractors in two cases. Police found that seven people lost their lives in the two accidents, which they linked to poorly maintained and inadequately secured roads. The cases were registered at Butibori and Umred police stations. The accused include an assistant engineer, a project manager of a road construction company, a PWD junior engineer and contractors. At Butibori, the accused have been identified as Manisha Sunil Aakulwar, Assistant Engineer, MIDC Division, PWD, and Ashish Lodhi, Project Manager with GR Infraprojects Ltd. The action followed an accident on the road connecting MIDC and Butibori. During the investigation, the police found that the road did not have proper markings and road delineators. Metro construction work is underway on the road.The maintenance of the Metro work and the road is being carried out under the supervision of GR Infraprojects Ltd. It caused deaths of four persons in the accidents, according to police. Police said the absence of road markings and delineators created a safety risk for motorists.

 

The investigating officer, PI Nishant Meshram of Butibori Police Station, recorded that the agency responsible for the work had failed to provide the required safety measures. The case was registered under Sections 281 and 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act. In the Umred case, police booked Sachin Awale, Junior Engineer, PublicWorks Department, and Seth Construction as coaccused. The case relates to an accident on the UmredBhivapur road, which police said occurred due to potholes. The police states that they had earlier been informed about the dangerous condition of the road. Correspondence was also made with the Public Works Department regarding filling of potholes and taking safety measures at the accidentprone stretch. Despite this, the potholes remained unfilled and adequate safety measures were not put in place. A total of three persons were killed in the road accident on the road strech. Police said the accident occurred because of the potholes. Based on the investigation, Awale and Seth Construction were added as co-accused. The Umred case was registered under Sections 281, 125(a) and 106(1) of the BNS and Section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act.