PONDA: The Mardol Police have filed charges against two companies following the collapse of a wall at the Kundaim Industrial Estate, which led to the deaths of three workers last Sunday. The charges include one company that built an unauthorised retaining wall and another that constructed illegal temporary huts below the wall, where the workers were residing at the time of the collapse.
The Mardol Police registered the offence under Section 125, 106(1) read with 3(5) of the BNS, based on a complaint filed by Sushant H. Sangodkar, PSI of Mardol Police Station. The complaint details that the accused, Meene Thomas, a resident of Ponda, and Cherian Thomas, residing in Tamil Nadu, owners of Southern Engineering Project located at Plot No 29 and 30 of IDC Kundaim, constructed a compound wall beyond the approved height and failed to maintain it adequately.
Additionally, the accused V. C. Chandramouli, also known as Chandran, proprietor of Jayanthy Constructions, and his son Nikhil Nair, both residing in Ponda, constructed unauthorised and illegal temporary structures in the setback areas. They accommodated labourers Dilip Kumar Yadav, 3, and Mukesh Kumar Singh, 34, from Bihar, and Trinath Naik, 50, from Odisha, in these illegally constructed temporary shelters.
The collapse of the compound wall onto the illegal shelters resulted in the deaths of these three workers. The police have charged the responsible parties with endangering the lives of the labourers, leading to their deaths.
Further investigation is ongoing under the supervision of PI Yogesh S. Sawant of the Mardol Police Station.
