Mumbai: Sessions Court Discharges BMC Engineer Involved In 2013 Babu Genu Market Building Collapse Case

Mumbai: The sessions court has discharged Madhukar Redekar, assistant engineer attached to the planning and design department of the BMC, booked in connection with the collapse of the municipal building, Babu Genu market, in which 61 people died and 31 suffered severe injuries.

About The Incident

The building at Dockyard Road, having ground plus four floors, collapsed on September 27, 2013. Subsequently, a complaint was registered by BMC official Prithviraj Chavan with the Sewree police station. It was alleged that Ashok Kumar Mehta, a tenant living on the ground floor of that building, had carried out unauthorised alteration for storing his mandap decoration equipment, materials, etc causing damage to the pillars, beams, and columns; which ultimately collapsed.

Redekar was serving as an assistant engineer at the time when the tragedy struck. He was aware that the said building was in a dilapidated condition and it was his duty to report it to his superiors, which he failed to do, according to the agency. The investigating agency charge-sheeted him for the commission of the offence. The police had also booked Chavan for dereliction of duty and negligence, but he has been discharged by the Bombay High Court for want of prosecution sanction.

After Chavan's discharge from the court, Redekar's lawyer Sujit Shelar also moved a discharge plea. Shelar argued that the police had not obtained a sanction to prosecute Redekar in the case as the same was refused by the authorities. Hence, the court discharged Redekar for want of sanction.