Odisha flyover collapse: Engineer arrested, case against four others

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Bhubaneswar: An engineer was arrested on Monday in connection with the collapse of an under-construction flyover here that left a man dead and 11 others injured, the police said.

Police have also registered a case against four others.

Deputy Executive Engineer in the Works Department of the state government, Bansidhar Praharaj, has been arrested in connection with the incident that took place near Bomikhal yesterday, Commissioner of Police Y B Khurania said.

A case has been registered against Praharaj, Assistant Engineer Kishore Rout and Directors of Panda Infra Project, which was executing the construction work of the bridge, Khurania said.

Efforts are on to trace the four others against whom the case has been registered, and if necessary, police may issue a look-out notice, he said.

Those named in the case have been booked under different sections of the IPC, including Section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), at Laxmisagar police station, police said.

The police also booked them under Sections 337 of IPC (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt) and 34 (when a criminal act is done by several persons), they said.

While Prahjaraj and Rout were suspended soon after the mishap, Executive Engineer Dukhabandhu Behera was also placed under suspension later for prima facie lapses, a senior official said.

A high-level probe has been launched into the incident by a committee comprising Chief Engineer (Designs) and Chief Engineer (Roads), Works Department Secretary N K Pradhan told reporters.

The committee has been asked to submit its report within a week, he said.

Stern action would be taken against those found guilty, he said, adding, that the project was under the Roads and Buildings (R & B) Division-4.

A 39-year-old businessman was killed and 11 others were injured after a portion of the under-construction flyover caved in.

Opposition parties have blamed the BJD government for the mishap and targeted Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is also in charge of the Works Department.