Binds slam police for ‘monetary compensation’ offer

NAGPUR: The aggrieved Bind and Sahashrabudhe families have lambasted city police for delaying the FIR in the drowning case at Haldiram Food’s Krazy Castle Aqua Park’s wavepool where they had lost their sons on May 20. The Binds also claimed that a senior police officer tried to placate them by offering monetary compensation.
Akshay Bind and Sagar Sahashrabudhe had drowned in the wavepool of the aqua park on North Ambazari Road while enjoying with their friends.Sahashrabudhe’s friend Snehal Motghare was lucky to be pulled out of the water in time before he being rushed to the hospital.
The park was immediately shut down following orders from district collector Ashwin Mudgal after the accident. Police had registered a case of accidental death under Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) 174 but made no further progress.
Bajaj Nagar police have refrained from converting the Accidental Death Report (ADR) case to either death due to negligence under Indian Penal Code (304A IPC) or culpable homicide not amounting to murder (304 IPC) against the management of the water park even after a week of launching a probe.
In April, city police had registered an offence under section 304 IPC against the management and employees of Empress Mall on the same day after the deaths of three labourers on its premises.
Sachin Bind, elder brother of Akshay, alleged that a senior officer had tried to pacify them by offering them some monetary assistance which he felt was an obnoxious proposal to make in the backdrop of a family losing their grown-up son. “We recall getting the offer for monetary help through some top police official. We have a strong feeling the police department has been managed,” he said.
Sachin’s uncle Chandu said there was a clear indication that the police were working under some serious pressure. “The top officials are not working freely as there is apparent indication of attempts to drag and delay the case so that we give up,” he said. The aggrieved relative sounded keen to drag police to the high court if the case is not registered.
Sahashrabudhe’s kin Naresh Panchtilak said they have already made several rounds of the police station but nobody there seems to be bothered about their suffering. “The cops are only repeating assurances citing progress made in their probe but in reality we don’t see anything happening,” he said. “We were told that documents have been assimilated and evidences collected but only the Almighty knows the truth,” said the kin.
Zonal DCP Krishnakant Upadhyay said the probe so far found no element of negligence. He denied any allegations of police department making any monetary offers. “We are not working under any kind of pressure apart from following the due course of action,” he said.