<p>A day after a part of a busy foot overbridge caved in killing six persons and injuring 35 others, specialised civic teams dismantled the iron structure on Friday.</p>.<p>A preliminary probe has found that the structural audit was not proper and the repairs undertaken by the contractor were not up to the mark.</p>.<p>Even as the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Central Railways (CR) tried to pass the buck on the ownership of the bridge, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis gave a dressing down to the concerned officers.</p>.<p>"We have taken this seriously. The bridge was repaired and audited and found okay. And still, it comes down," Fadnavis said, seeking a report within 24 hours.</p>.<p>This is the third foot overbridge tragedy in Mumbai. On September 29, 2017, there was the Elphinstone Road stampede and on July 3, 2018, there was the Andheri East-West walkway collapse.</p>.<p>The Shiv Sena, which controls the BMC; the BJP-Sena government in Maharashtra; and the Railway ministry have come under fire from all political parties and members of the public.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, several experts and police officers questioned the logic of dismantling the entire bridge just hours after the tragedy, pointing out that vital evidence is now lost.</p>.<p>BMC's chief engineer (vigilance) had submitted a report to municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta, who also came under sharp criticism.</p>.<p>The report pointed at three major issues.</p>.<p>First, the structural repairs undertaken between 2012-14 by the contractor RPS Infrastructure Pvt Ltd was not proper.</p>.<p>Secondly, the structural audit undertaken by Prof P D Desai's Associated Engineering Consultants & Analysts Pvt Ltd between 2016-18 was not correct.</p>.<p>Thirdly, the report found lapses on the part of BMC's supervisory officials involved in the repairs and audit and recommended a full-fledged departmental enquiry against four of them, of whom two have retired.</p>.<p>A copy of the report that is in possession with <span class="italic"><em>DH</em></span> also suggests that the audit company be blacklisted and the ongoing audit works be withdrawn forthwith.</p>.<p>A re-audit of all the audited reports of the firm were ordered by the BMC.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, the Azad Maidan Police have registered an FIR into the incident and applied IPC sections on negligence.</p>.<p>There was also criticism that Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray had not visited the spot or the hospitals where the victims are.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam demanded a probe against Ajoy Mehta. "Such things are happening regularly in Mumbai. Why there is no action against the BMC chief," he asked.</p>
<p>A day after a part of a busy foot overbridge caved in killing six persons and injuring 35 others, specialised civic teams dismantled the iron structure on Friday.</p>.<p>A preliminary probe has found that the structural audit was not proper and the repairs undertaken by the contractor were not up to the mark.</p>.<p>Even as the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Central Railways (CR) tried to pass the buck on the ownership of the bridge, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis gave a dressing down to the concerned officers.</p>.<p>"We have taken this seriously. The bridge was repaired and audited and found okay. And still, it comes down," Fadnavis said, seeking a report within 24 hours.</p>.<p>This is the third foot overbridge tragedy in Mumbai. On September 29, 2017, there was the Elphinstone Road stampede and on July 3, 2018, there was the Andheri East-West walkway collapse.</p>.<p>The Shiv Sena, which controls the BMC; the BJP-Sena government in Maharashtra; and the Railway ministry have come under fire from all political parties and members of the public.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, several experts and police officers questioned the logic of dismantling the entire bridge just hours after the tragedy, pointing out that vital evidence is now lost.</p>.<p>BMC's chief engineer (vigilance) had submitted a report to municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta, who also came under sharp criticism.</p>.<p>The report pointed at three major issues.</p>.<p>First, the structural repairs undertaken between 2012-14 by the contractor RPS Infrastructure Pvt Ltd was not proper.</p>.<p>Secondly, the structural audit undertaken by Prof P D Desai's Associated Engineering Consultants & Analysts Pvt Ltd between 2016-18 was not correct.</p>.<p>Thirdly, the report found lapses on the part of BMC's supervisory officials involved in the repairs and audit and recommended a full-fledged departmental enquiry against four of them, of whom two have retired.</p>.<p>A copy of the report that is in possession with <span class="italic"><em>DH</em></span> also suggests that the audit company be blacklisted and the ongoing audit works be withdrawn forthwith.</p>.<p>A re-audit of all the audited reports of the firm were ordered by the BMC.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, the Azad Maidan Police have registered an FIR into the incident and applied IPC sections on negligence.</p>.<p>There was also criticism that Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray had not visited the spot or the hospitals where the victims are.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam demanded a probe against Ajoy Mehta. "Such things are happening regularly in Mumbai. Why there is no action against the BMC chief," he asked.</p>
