Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday suspended assistant engineer Sumit Singh and proposed action against superintending engineer Ashish Shrivastava after a probe found negligence in the maintenance of a streetlight pole that allegedly developed an electrical current, leading to the death of BJP youth leader and lawyer Divyarishi Tiwari in MP Nagar.
The action followed the report of a four-member committee constituted by Bhopal collector Priyank Mishra to investigate the incident. The BMC has also sent a proposal to the state government seeking action against superintending engineer Shrivastava, who is posted with the corporation on deputation.
The MP Nagar police have registered a case against an unidentified person and are conducting a separate investigation. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had also directed officials to conduct an inquiry and take legal action following the incident.
Four-member panel finds negligence
Tiwari died on Sep 27 after coming in contact with an electrically charged pole in front of DB Mall in MP Nagar.
The following day, the collector constituted a four-member committee comprising additional collector Sumit Pandey, chief medical and health officer Manish Sharma, electricity department executive controller Mohammad Javed and superintending engineer Pradeep Singh Chauhan.
To ensure an independent probe, no BMC official or employee was included in the committee. The panel submitted its report on Friday and held assistant engineer Sumit Singh responsible for negligence.
Based on the findings, BMC commissioner Sanskriti Jain ordered Singh's suspension. The inquiry committee also found negligence on the part of superintending engineer Ashish Shrivastava.
Since he is serving the corporation on deputation, the BMC cannot take direct disciplinary action against him. It has therefore written to the state government seeking appropriate action.
Pole carried current for five days before fatal incident
The streetlight pole in front of DB Mall is maintained by the municipal corporation. The probe found that inadequate maintenance led to the pole becoming electrically charged.
Police also found during their investigation that the pole had reportedly been carrying current for around five days before the fatal incident. The BMC's electrical wing had allegedly been informed, but the issue was not addressed promptly.
