Neeraj Desai’s police custody extended

Mumbai: The police custody of the only arrested accused in the Himalaya bridge collapse case on Monday was extended for investigation and analysis of the documents seized by the Azad Maidan police, which is probing the incdient.

The police sought further custody of Neeraj Desai on grounds that they were analysing the audit report and other documents pertaining to the ill-fated bridge and needed to interrogate Desai further. The police are studying fine prints in the structural audit of the bridge and the inspection reports that were filed after in the subsequent years.

The bridge collapsed on March 14 killing six persons and injuring at least 31 others. The police have also recorded statements of several engineers of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) who were also part of the process in the following years.

Desai, a mechanical engineer in structural engineering, was the person whose firm conducted the structural audit of the Himalaya bridge.

On investigating and studying the audit report in detail, the police found that the persons who were responsible for scrutinising the condition of the bridge had submitted a faulty report. The audit report stated the bridge to be in ‘good condition’ and its age was also found to fudged.

The police had arrested Desai from his office on March 18. The BMC had submitted an inquiry report naming S.O. Kori, R.B. Tare (both retired engineers) and A.R. Patil, S.F. Kakulte.