<p>Bengaluru: Bengaluru police have charged 10 people, including representatives of Nagarjuna Constructions Company (NCC) and four officials of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), over the accident in HBR Layout that killed a woman techie and her toddler in January 2023. </p>.<p>The accused, who are all out on bail, face charges of causing death by negligence (IPC section 304A) and mischief causing damage (427), both of which carry a maximum punishment of two years in prison. </p>.<p>The accident occurred along the Outer Ring Road in HBR Layout on January 10, 2023. An under-construction metro pier (number 218) buckled and fell on a four-member family travelling on a motorcycle. </p>.<p>Tejaswini L Sulakhe and her toddler son, Vihan L Sulakhe, died in the accident. The pillar was part of the 38.44-km KR Puram-Airport line, which is being built by the NCC. </p>.<p>The charge sheet names BMRCL officials Venkatesh Shetty (deputy chief engineer), Mahesh C (executive engineer), Jaffar Sadiq (section engineer) and Jeevan Kumar (assistant executive engineer). </p>.<p>The NCC representatives named by the police are Vikas Kumar Singh (engineer), Mathaiah A (project manager), P Mali (junior engineer), Laxmipathi Raju (site supervisor) and Bharatesh Sattigeri (safety officer). </p>.Bengaluru metro trains will run as per schedule on Dec 11: BMRCL.<p>The charge sheet highlights “procedural and scientific” lapses in the pillar construction and concludes that classical buckling failure of the reinforcement cage caused its collapse. </p>.<p>Govindapura police had sought the Railway Ministry’s sanction to prosecute BMRCL Chief Engineer CM Ranganath but did not get it, a police officer privy to the investigation said. </p>.<p>Citing technical specification 5, clause 5.5 in the Safety Health Environment (SHE) manual, the charge sheet notes that when bars of 20 mm diameter and above are used in pillar construction, then mechanical coupling must be used for “splicing”. </p>.<p>“This main rule was flouted, and the ‘lapping’ procedure was done instead of splicing,” the charge sheet notes. </p>.<p>The charge sheet states that 32 mm bars were used for the pillar construction. Further, BMRCL officials and NCC representatives at the site did not possess method statements and scientific diagrams with them. They went ahead with the construction without design drawings for ancillary works, it adds. </p>.<p>This caused the classical buckling failure of the reinforcement cage, according to a report by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad. </p>.<p>The charge sheet notes that the reinforcement cage structure weighed approximately 11.4 tonnes and was 16.585 metres tall. Hence, guy wire had to be used for support. However, neither site engineers nor labourers had designs or technical specification documents for ancillary work. Even a minimum number of safety workers was not deployed at the site. </p>.<p>There was no metal crossbar to maintain the stability of the reinforcement structure either. Even a small perturbation could have led to the collapse. </p>.<p>According to the charge sheet, the NCC representatives must have followed all the rules in the SHE manual but they didn’t follow them. When the rules were not followed, BMRCL officials must have guided them to correct the mistake, but they also did not perform their duty. </p>.<p><strong>Key points in charge sheet </strong></p><p>* Procedural and scientific lapses </p><p>* When bars of 20 mm diameter and above are used, then mechanical coupling must be used for 'splicing'. This main rule was flouted </p><p>* BMRCL officials and NCC representatives didn't use design drawings for ancillary works </p><p>* Inadequate safety workers at site </p><p>* No metal crossbar to maintain the stability of the reinforcement structure Splicing used to join and transfer force between beams and columns Lapping refers to overlapping two rebars to create a continuous line Guy wire is a metal rope used to support a structure</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Bengaluru police have charged 10 people, including representatives of Nagarjuna Constructions Company (NCC) and four officials of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), over the accident in HBR Layout that killed a woman techie and her toddler in January 2023. </p>.<p>The accused, who are all out on bail, face charges of causing death by negligence (IPC section 304A) and mischief causing damage (427), both of which carry a maximum punishment of two years in prison. </p>.<p>The accident occurred along the Outer Ring Road in HBR Layout on January 10, 2023. An under-construction metro pier (number 218) buckled and fell on a four-member family travelling on a motorcycle. </p>.<p>Tejaswini L Sulakhe and her toddler son, Vihan L Sulakhe, died in the accident. The pillar was part of the 38.44-km KR Puram-Airport line, which is being built by the NCC. </p>.<p>The charge sheet names BMRCL officials Venkatesh Shetty (deputy chief engineer), Mahesh C (executive engineer), Jaffar Sadiq (section engineer) and Jeevan Kumar (assistant executive engineer). </p>.<p>The NCC representatives named by the police are Vikas Kumar Singh (engineer), Mathaiah A (project manager), P Mali (junior engineer), Laxmipathi Raju (site supervisor) and Bharatesh Sattigeri (safety officer). </p>.Bengaluru metro trains will run as per schedule on Dec 11: BMRCL.<p>The charge sheet highlights “procedural and scientific” lapses in the pillar construction and concludes that classical buckling failure of the reinforcement cage caused its collapse. </p>.<p>Govindapura police had sought the Railway Ministry’s sanction to prosecute BMRCL Chief Engineer CM Ranganath but did not get it, a police officer privy to the investigation said. </p>.<p>Citing technical specification 5, clause 5.5 in the Safety Health Environment (SHE) manual, the charge sheet notes that when bars of 20 mm diameter and above are used in pillar construction, then mechanical coupling must be used for “splicing”. </p>.<p>“This main rule was flouted, and the ‘lapping’ procedure was done instead of splicing,” the charge sheet notes. </p>.<p>The charge sheet states that 32 mm bars were used for the pillar construction. Further, BMRCL officials and NCC representatives at the site did not possess method statements and scientific diagrams with them. They went ahead with the construction without design drawings for ancillary works, it adds. </p>.<p>This caused the classical buckling failure of the reinforcement cage, according to a report by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad. </p>.<p>The charge sheet notes that the reinforcement cage structure weighed approximately 11.4 tonnes and was 16.585 metres tall. Hence, guy wire had to be used for support. However, neither site engineers nor labourers had designs or technical specification documents for ancillary work. Even a minimum number of safety workers was not deployed at the site. </p>.<p>There was no metal crossbar to maintain the stability of the reinforcement structure either. Even a small perturbation could have led to the collapse. </p>.<p>According to the charge sheet, the NCC representatives must have followed all the rules in the SHE manual but they didn’t follow them. When the rules were not followed, BMRCL officials must have guided them to correct the mistake, but they also did not perform their duty. </p>.<p><strong>Key points in charge sheet </strong></p><p>* Procedural and scientific lapses </p><p>* When bars of 20 mm diameter and above are used, then mechanical coupling must be used for 'splicing'. This main rule was flouted </p><p>* BMRCL officials and NCC representatives didn't use design drawings for ancillary works </p><p>* Inadequate safety workers at site </p><p>* No metal crossbar to maintain the stability of the reinforcement structure Splicing used to join and transfer force between beams and columns Lapping refers to overlapping two rebars to create a continuous line Guy wire is a metal rope used to support a structure</p>