Karnataka HC initiates PIL over Bengaluru Metro tragedy

The Karnataka High Court on Friday initiated a suo motu public interest litigation over the death of a woman and her child after a Bengaluru Metro pillar pier under construction here collapsed on them.

Commencing the hearing, Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Ashok S Kinagri cited news reports about the tragedy and expressed concern.

The reinforcement cage of the pier came suddenly crashing down on a two-wheeler near HBR Layout on January 10, killing software engineer Tejaswini, 28, and her toddler son.

The woman’s husband and daughter who were also in the two-wheeler survived the horror.

Government quizzed

The court sought answers from officials on the safety measures undertaken and whether tender documents specified safety measures.

It also demanded to know if the Karnataka government had issued orders on the safety measures and fixed the responsibility of contractors and officials involved in the construction.

The court named the State of Karnataka, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Bangalore Metro Rail Corp Ltd (BMRCL) as respondents.

Notices were ordered issued to them before the hearing was adjourned.

The BMRCL has sought the help of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to conduct an independent probe into the matter and also suspended its engineers involved in the construction.

A FIR has been registered against Nagarjuna Construction Co and seven others including a BMRCL Deputy Chief Engineer and an Executive Engineer.

(With inputs from Agencies)