Cops blame BWSSB for delay in probe

The police blamed the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) over the delay in investigations into deaths of three manual scavengers. 

The first information report (FIR), registered by the police based on an eyewitness account, names a BWSSB engineer along with a contractor and a BBMP engineer. “It took two days for the BWSSB executive engineer to be present before the investigating officer and give his statement. He said the project on Kaggadaspura Road in CV Raman Nagar was undertaken by Ramky Infrastructure, a contractor.


Representatives of the contractors had enough time to lock their company and go absconding,” said a senior police officer privy to investigations.

“We had to send notices to the accused as there was no response after the FIR was registered. Hence, we had to include BWSSB as one of the accused parties. Only after the notices were served, did the BWSSB executive engineer turn up on Friday.

We have now issued notices to Ramky Infrastructure to present themselves within two days. If not, we will approach the court, seek a warrant and arrests will be made,” the officer told DH.

“BWSSB cannot shrug off from culpability after they hold Ramky Infrastructure responsible for the manhole deaths. Their’s (BWSSB) may not be criminal liability, but they are definitely a party to the case. By this time at least, we assumed some engineers would have been suspended after a proper departmental enquiry,” the officer added.

Meanwhile, BWSSB chairman Tushar Girinath said, “The police had initially taken a suo motu case where a BWSSB engineer is mentioned as accused in the FIR. Our executive engineer has given his statement against contractor Ramky Infrastructure and it is the police’s work to identify who from Ramky Infrastructure was responsible.”