Pune’s Moshi Tragedy: Project Head & Safety Officer Booked For Culpable Homicide After 9 Killed In Garbage Depot Collapse

Pimpri-Chinchwad: Police have registered a case against the project head and safety officer of Antony Lara Renewable Energy Pvt. Ltd (ALR) in connection with the 8th July Moshi garbage depot tragedy that claimed nine lives. The FIR has been filed late Monday night at the Bhosari MIDC Police Station on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and negligence.

The accused have been identified as Project Head Ashok Kumar Siyaram Sharan Gupta (59) and Safety Officer Vijay Ramrao Sapkal (38). Both officials were also injured in the accident. The case has been registered under Sections 105, 125(a), 125(b) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The FIR was registered on the complaint of Sohan Madhukar Nikam (55), an Executive Engineer in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) Environment Department. Police booked the two officials late on the night of July 13 and have started further investigation.

According to the complaint, ALR was responsible for operating the waste-to-energy plant and managing the sanitary landfill at the Moshi garbage depot. It stated that the company was aware that continuous rainfall during the monsoon could weaken the landfill and increase the risk of a collapse.

The complaint alleged that, despite knowing of the potential danger to human life, the project head and safety officer failed to take the required safety measures or conduct proper inspections. As a result, a large portion of the sanitary landfill collapsed on the afternoon of 8th July and crashed into the three-storey administrative building and a nearby road. Nine workers died in the incident, while 12 others suffered serious injuries.

PCMC Commissioner Dr Vijay Suryawanshi on Monday said the company had prima facie failed to ensure safety at the plant despite heavy rainfall and the presence of a massive mound of legacy waste next to the building.

The civic body has also said a preliminary inquiry found that an occupancy certificate had been issued only for the ground floor of the administrative building at the company's request.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has formed an independent high-level technical inquiry committee headed by Divisional Commissioner Sheetal Teli-Ugale to investigate the tragedy and recommend measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Senior Police Inspector Ganesh Jamdar of the Bhosari MIDC Police Station is leading the investigation.