Police book contractor after boy drowns in open pit dug for bullet train project in Thane district

The tragic incident took place at Kopar village on Monday evening when the boy fell into the unprotected excavation site filled with water, official said.

Thane: Police have registered an FIR against a contractor after a 12-year-old boy drowned in an open pit dug for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project in Bhiwandi town of Thane district, an official said on Thursday.

The tragic incident took place at Kopar village on Monday evening when the boy fell into the unprotected excavation site filled with water, he said.

Senior inspector Bharat Kamath of the Narpoli police station, under whose jurisdiction the incident took place, said they have registered the FIR under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 106 ( causing death by negligence) against the contractor who has undertaken the work at the site.

The 508-km-long under-construction high speed rail line will connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad. As part of the project, a depot is coming up in Bhiwandi, located on Mumbai's outskirts.

On Wednesday, Bhiwandi Lok Sabha MP Suresh Mhatre of the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) visited the bereaved family to offer his condolences and assured them of his support in seeking justice.

"This heart-breaking incident is a direct result of the irresponsibility of the company involved in the project. The excavation site had no safety barricades or warning signs at the time of the incident, which directly led to the child's death. It was only after the tragedy that barricades were hastily installed, revealing both negligence and damage control by the company," he said.

After consoling the boy's family, Mhatre visited the accident site accompanied by the victim's relatives. He later contacted the senior inspector of the Narpoli police station over the phone and demanded strict action against those responsible for the boy's death.

"We will not rest until justice is served. Companies must not play with innocent lives in the name of development," the MP maintained.