A day after the collapse of a giant ‘Tsunami’ swing killed an on duty police officer, and injured 12 others at the Surajkund International Crafts Mela, the Faridabad Police on Sunday arrested the swing operator and a staff member. The 39th edition of the annual fair — which saw the collapse of a swing and a gate within an hour on Saturday — is set to continue as scheduled, the district administration underlined in a statement even as the section for swings has been closed to the public till probe continues. To prevent such incidents in future, Chief Minister Nayab Singh has issued directions to officials concerned to ensure safety compliance at all such fairs and public events.
In a statement, Haryana Police said a case has been lodged against Mohammad Shakir, the proprietor of Himachal Fun Care Company — he was responsible for installing the swings at the fair premises, said officers. The other accused has been identified as Nitesh, a resident of Dharmapuri Sadar in Meerut Cantt. Role of other vendors and associates is under investigation, officers said.
An FIR was registered at Surajkund police station under charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Faridabad Police Commissioner Satender Kumar Gupta had late Saturday night constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Mukesh Kumar. The SIT comprises Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime-2) Varun Kumar Dahiya, the In-charge of the NIT Crime Branch, and Sub-Inspector Sanjay of the Surajkund police station.
Inspector Jagdish Prasad (59) died on Saturday as he suffered serious injuries during the rescue operation after the swing snapped mid-air and crashed to the ground. Even as he stood on the opposite side of the swing, a heavy part of it crushed him while he was trying to help people, said officers.
According to the complaint filed by Assistant Sub-inspector Sunny, he was present at the fairground with Inspector Prasad. “The death of the inspector was caused due to the deliberate endangerment of people’s lives by Himachal Fun Fair’s proprietor Mohammad Shakir and his staff, who did not maintain the safety standards,” the ASI said in his complaint.
The CM has ordered a comprehensive review and report on technical inspection, fitness certification, and operational arrangements of all swings and equipment at fairs and public events so that such incidents do not recur in the future. He also announced compensation for the accident victims, and a government job for Inspector Prasad’s kin. “The government stands firmly with the family of Jagdish Prasad in this difficult time. Those seriously injured in the accident will receive financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh each from the state government,” Saini said.
On Sunday, Tourism Director Parth Gupta and Faridabad Deputy Commissioner Ayush Sinha inspected the fairground to review security arrangements.
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“The Assistant Deputy Commissioner-level six-member committee probe will look into and address every lapse”, Sinha said. The committee comprises ADC Satibir Singh, DCP (NIT) Maqsood Ahmed, YMCA University Mechanical department head Arvind Gupta, and Executive Engineers Hitesh Kumar and Ashwini Gaur of the Irrigation Department and HSVP respectively.
Emphasising that the safety of visitors continues to be a top priority, the district administration in a statement underlined, “… the Mela will continue as per the pre-scheduled programme. In view of the unfortunate recent incident, the swings area has been temporarily closed as a precautionary measure until the ongoing inquiry is completed. All other cultural, craft, food & beverage, and entertainment programmes in the mela premises are completely safe and operating smoothly.”
Haryana Heritage and Tourism Minister Dr Arvind Sharma said that 2.20 lakh tourists arrived at the Surajkund mela on Sunday alone. He added that in the previous edition, the total attendance exceeded 15 lakh tourists, whereas this year already 7.28 lakh tourists have visited in just 9 days. With Valentine’s Week approaching, tourist numbers are expected to rise further, which could allow the mela to break all previous records, he opined. The Mela, which started on January 31, will conclude on February 15.
