KOLKATA: One woman was killed while another woman sustained serious injuries after a slab of a foot-over-bridge (FOB) at Baruipur railway station in South 24 Parganas fell on them on Friday night.
Ashima Pramanik (43) was buying flowers from a vendor sitting beneath the FOB when the 2.5 foot long and 1.5 foot wide concrete slab fell on her head at around 8 pm on Friday. She was brought dead to a local hospital. Her relatives alleged that none of the passengers at the railway station came forward to take her to the hospital even after seeing her lying in a pool of blood after being hit by the concrete slab from above.
Bystander Chhabi Naskar (60) was also grievously injured in the incident and has been admitted to Calcutta National Medical College where her condition is stated to be critical.
On the other hand, Eastern Railways have initiated a high-level inquiry into the incident. "Two Railway staffers responsible for upkeep of the FOB have been suspended and a high-level inquiry has been initiated into the incident to ascertain the reason behind the collapse. The committee formed to carry out the investigation will submit its report within seven days," Eastern Railways CPRO Ravi Mahapatra said.
On the other hand, relatives of the deceased have filed a case against the Railways under Section 304 A (causing death by negligence) of Indian Penal Code.
This is the fourth incident of bridge collapse in the state this month. Majerhat Bridge in southwestern Kolkata collapsed on September 4 killing three people followed by Phansidewa Bridge Collapse near Siliguri on September 7. Another under-construction bridge at Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas district collapsed on September 24.