Azad Maidan cops desperately seeking Professor DD Desai

The bridge had been inspected by Professor DD Desai's Associated Engineering Consultants and Analysts as recently as August 2018

The police, waiting to record the statement of the professor who had last audited the CSMT foot overbridge that collapsed last Thursday, have said they would be forced to conduct raids at his homes, offices if he did not appear by Monday.

A senior officer privy to the investigation told mid-day, "Professor DD Desai, who runs the firm, Associated Engineering Consultants and Analysts, had conducted the audit of Himalaya FOB in 2016. We have written a letter to the person concerned in the BMC to ask him to report to Azad Maidan police station so that his statement can be recorded. But professor Desai has neither reported to the police station nor contacted us over the phone. We are trying to trace him now."

The FOB caved in during peak hours on Thursday evening, claiming six lives and injuring three dozen others. On Saturday, BMC handed over all relevant documents to the police such as inquiry report and audit report related to the FOB.

"Desai's statement is crucial in this case because after BMC had conducted repair work in 2013, professor Desai's firm conducted an audit in 2016 and an inspection in August 2018," another officer said.

"The then chief engineer, deputy chief engineer, executive engineer and assistant engineer joined hands with Desai to conduct the FOB audit," the officer said. Till now the cops have not recorded the statements of any BMC officials. "The BMC officials were on weekend leave, so, the process of recording their statements will begin from Monday," the officer said.

Zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police Abhishek Trimukhe and Divisional Assistant Commissioner of Police Nagesh S Jadhav visited Azad Maidan police station and took stock of the investigation. All they said was, "Investigations are underway. All due processes and actions will be taken within the ambit of the law."

Meanwhile, high-level probe teams have been visiting hospitals and recording statements of injured commuters 'afresh'. "The victims were in deep shock post the incident and were unable to give us statements. Our teams will record their statements again," another officer privy to the investigation said.

Another senior police officer said, "We have received the documents related to the bridge. At present we are trying to understand the BMC system regarding maintenance and repair work of the FOB."

Also Read: Mumbai: Civic body makes a U-turn, blames auditing agency for mishap

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