UP orders fresh probe into music fest platform mishap

Vijay Upadhyay
Agra. Almost seven years after dozens of people were injured in the collapse of a large platform constructed for the shooting of a Zee Television musical programme behind the Taj Mahal, the UP government has ordered a fresh inquiry into the incident, terming the earlier inquiry as insufficient.
According to a letter sent by the special secretary (Home), UP, Saurabh Babu to Agra district magistrate Sanjay Prasad, the report submitted by the then inquiry committee had been insufficient and had failed to nail down the culprits behind this unfortunate incident and there was a need to begin a fresh inquiry in which the responsibility of those involved in this incident shall have to be ascertained so that action could be taken against them for their negligence.
Zee Telefilms Ltd. had organised a special shooting of its musical programme "Close Up Antakshari" on the banks of river Yamuna behind the Taj Mahal on March 11, 1999 and in the midst of this shooting, the sands had shifted from below the platform causing the entire audience-gallery to collapse, trapping hundreds of locals in the debris.
Dozens of the seriously injured locals had to be admitted in the nearby hospitals following which, the State Government had ordered an inquiry into the possible negligence of the show organisers in constructing the platform on shifting sands.
But the inquiry report that had been allegedly "doctored" by the inquiry officials under pressure, instead of naming any particular person or agency as responsible for the mishap, claimed that it was a "collective responsibility" of the entire crowd of audience in causing the collapse of the audience gallery and it was not possible to ascertain the responsibility of a single person or agency in the incident.
Now, seven years past this incident, the state government has again brushed off the dust from this inquiry report and sought a fresh inquiry into the mishap, demanding the Agra district magistrate to make sure that the people responsible for causing this incident are nailed down this time.
According to Sanjay Prasad, district magistrate Agra, he had received the letter from the State Government and he shall be shortly setting up a panel of inquiry that shall open the file of this incident yet again and conduct a fresh inquiry in compliance to the State Government's instructions.

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