Mumbai: One dead, three injured as parapet wall slab of metro rail line falls onto vehicles
Mumbai (PTI): One person died and three others were injured after a slab of the girder bridge of under-construction metro rail line 4 collapsed on a few vehicles in Mumbai's Mulund area on Saturday afternoon, police and civic officials said.
A slab of the parapet wall of the girder bridge fell near Johnson and Johnson factory on the arterial LBS Road some time after noon on an autorickshaw and a Skoda car, both of which were heavily damaged, they added.
A fire brigade official identified the deceased as Ramdhan Yadav and the injured as Rajkumar Indrajeet Yadav (45), Mahendra Pratap Yadav (52) and Deepa Ruhiya (40).
The condition of Rajkumar is critical and he is in an ICU in a nearby hospital, whereas Mahendra and Ruhiya are currently stable, the official added.
In a statement, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority said a portion of the parapet segment fell at 12:15pm near pier 196 of metro line construction close to Mulund Fire Station onto a passing autorickshaw.
The Metro project team is at the site and is working on relief operations and securing the site in close co-ordination with BMC and disaster management authorities, the statement said, adding an investigation is underway to ascertain the exact cause of the collapse.
Line 4 is an under-construction route from Wadala in south-central Mumbai to neighbouring Thane with a large section passing over the arterial LBS Road connecting areas like Ghatkopar, Vikhroli, Bhandup, Mulund etc.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad slammed the state government over the incident and questioned whether the lives of Mumbai residents had "become so cheap".
In a post on X, she said authorities were more focused on publicity around infrastructure projects than ensuring public safety.
The Lok Sabha MP demanded accountability from authorities, raising concerns over alleged lapses in safety measures at the site, particularly given the heavy traffic movement in the area.
She also questioned whether quality and technical safety standards were being compromised in the push to complete metro works quickly, and said repeated announcements of inquiries after such incidents were not sufficient.
"While development is necessary, it should not come at the cost of citizens' lives," she said while calling for strict action against those responsible for the lapse.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Delhi man held for supplying stolen mobile phones to Nepal
New Delhi PTI): A 36-year-old man was arrested for allegedly supplying stolen and snatched mobile phones to Nepal, police said on Saturday.
The accused, identified as Jitender alias Jhela, a resident of Majnu Ka Tila in north Delhi, is part of an organised gang involved in mobile snatching and theft. Jitender was the main receiver and supplier of the gang, they said.
His arrest followed the earlier capture of two of his associates, identified as Jai Bhagwan alias Kale and Jitender alias Pahar, who were caught with 52 stolen mobile phones.
During interrogation, Jitender revealed that he used to supply stolen mobile phones to a Nepalese national based in Pokhara, the police said.
Police recovered 21 stolen mobile phones, five have been traced to registered FIRs, while investigation is underway to identify other receivers and link the remaining devices to pending cases, they said.
The police said Jitender has five previous cases against him, including robbery and theft.
