On Saturday, VMC Corporator and Congress leader Ami Ravat wrote a letter to the VMC Commissioner seeking an FIR against the engineers and the contractor concerned for culpable homicide. (Express Photo)
The Vadodara city police Saturday began a probe into the death of a man, who fell to his death in a 15-foot deep water drainage chamber near the Manjalpur sports complex on Friday evening while on an outing with his family.
Even as the Manjalpur police station said it has sought details from the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) regarding the work that had been undertaken in the area to require the manhole of the drainage chamber to be left open, allegedly without a warning, VMC Commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu told The Indian Express that the civic body has decided to lodge an FIR against the agency.
The incident occurred late on Friday evening when the deceased, identified as Vipulsinh Zala, 40, son of a retired Gujarat police officer, had stepped out with his family for dinner. According to Zala’s relatives, he had decided to park his vehicle near the site of the accident and walk back to the eatery where the family was waiting. “When he did not return for a few minutes, we tried calling him but could not get through… Then we decided to go and look for him. We spotted the open drainage chamber and thought of checking. Our fears came true when we saw his shoes floating on the water in the chamber; we immediately called the emergency services,” Giriraj Chudasma, a relative of the deceased, said.
Although the fire and emergency response team pulled out Zala within 10 minutes of the call, he was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
Primary probe, police officials said, has revealed that there was no warning sign near the open chamber, which had been left uncovered after the work had been completed.
Pranav Katariya, Assistant Commissioner of Police, F Division, told this newspaper, “We have registered a case of accidental death and initiated a probe into the possibility of negligence… We have communicated to the VMC to submit documents of the agreement with the agency, if they have hired one, as per their primary information. The terms of the agreement will be examined to see if the agency was asked to place warning signs and it failed to comply… Based on the probe and the decision of the family members of the deceased, we will proceed with an FIR if negligence is established.”
The police said the process to record statements of the locals is also underway to ascertain facts regarding the VMC work and the open manhole, as well as scanning of CCTV footage to determine how the incident happened on Friday evening. “The body of the deceased has been sent for post-mortem. Once the family has completed the last rites, we will call them to record their statements,” Katariya said.
Widespread outrage
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The incident caused widespread outrage in the city. On Saturday, VMC Corporator and Congress leader Ami Ravat wrote a letter to the VMC Commissioner seeking an FIR against the engineers and the contractor concerned for culpable homicide.
Ravat said in her letter, “It is high time that the VMC takes up its responsibility for such accidents which occur due to dark spots, inadequate lighting on construction sites, potholes, open manholes… Several people have lost their lives due to such incidents in the past too. We demand that the Mayor and the ruling party accept the responsibility and issue a public apology… and (declare a) compensation for the family of the deceased.”
When contacted, VMC Commissioner Babu said, “I have ordered a preliminary inquiry with the water department, and we have fixed the responsibility of the contractor… The VMC will file an FIR against the contractor, and we are also blacklisting them…”
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.
Expertise:
Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including:
Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground.
Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure.
Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case).
Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions.
Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More
