Thane: Contractor Booked For Negligence After Child Drowns In Open Pit Of Bullet Train Site

A case for alleged negligence has been registered against a contractor after a 12-year-old boy drowned in a pit dug for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet train project in Bhiwandi town of Thane district. However National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) which is executing the project said adequate safety measures were in place.

According to police, the incident took place at Kopar village on Monday evening when the boy fell into an "unprotected excavation site" filled with water.

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against the contractor under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 106 (causing death by negligence), said a police official, adding no arrest has been made..

The 508-km high speed rail line will connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad. As part of the project, a depot is coming up at Bhiwandi.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the NHSRCL said the boy "allegedly went for swimming in an excavated site for the construction of pillars", and "adequate safety measures were in place" there.

Strict measures are adopted to ensure the safety of workers, and the NHSRCL and its contractors will fully cooperate with the probe, the corporation added. "We urge the people living in the vicinity of construction sites not to enter barricaded areas without authorisation," it further said.