Faridabad, Feb 8: Police on Sunday booked a swing operator and his staff, a day after an on-duty inspector died and 11 others got injured when a giant ‘Tsunami’ swing snapped mid-air and collapsed at the Surajkund fairgrounds here.
Jagdish Prasad, the 58-year-old police inspector who died trying to save people, was awarded the Police Medal by the Haryana governor in 2019-20.
The tragedy struck the 39th Surajkund International Crafts Mela on Saturday evening, when about 19 people were riding the swing before it suddenly tilted and then crashed onto the ground, leaving 11 injured.
Prasad, who joined the Haryana Armed Police in 1989 and was to retire in March after completing 36 years in the force, showed great bravery in trying to save those trapped in the swing, but received severe injuries in the process, leading to his death at a hospital, a senior officer said.
The accident occurred barely an hour after a gate collapsed at the fairground, injuring two, including a child, officials said.
On Sunday, the Faridabad police station booked the swing operator and his staff under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the BNS, based on a complaint lodged by an assistant sub-inspector present at the accident site on Saturday.
The main accused in the FIR has been identified as Mohammad Shakir, the proprietor of Himachal Fun Care, which operated the giant swing that snapped, from Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmour district, police said.
The district administration, meanwhile, has said that the fair will continue on Sunday, with the swing area cordoned off pending further investigation.
Police have formed a four-member special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the case, headed by DCP (Crime) Mukesh Kumar, with ACP (Crime) Varun Dahiya, and sub-inspector Sanjay Kumar from the Surajkund police station as members, a senior police officer said.
The SIT has been tasked with carrying out a detailed probe into the incident, including fixing responsibility for negligence, if any, and evaluating adherence to the safety compliance measures.
According to the complaint filed by Assistant Sub-inspector Sunny, he was present at the fairground with Inspector Prasad when many people were seen enjoying the ‘Tsunami’ ride.
As the swing snapped mid-air, Prasad was seen trying to rescue those trapped in it. However, the swing suddenly collapsed after breaking from one side, and fell on them.
Prasad, who suffered serious injuries, died at a hospital later.
“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.
On Saturday night, Haryana DGP Ajay Singhal announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the brave inspector and a government job to one member of his family.
Stating that Prasad will be given the status of a martyr, the DGP lauded the officer for sacrificing his life trying to save the lives of others.
Haryana Tourism Minister Arvind Sharma on Sunday said the injured people are out of danger now.
A committee headed by the additional deputy commissioner will investigate the accident, officials said.
The sudden demise of Prasad, who is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son, all students and unmarried, has shocked his native village Dengra in Mathura district.
One of Prasad’s brothers, Pradeep, is a teacher and lives in the village with his father Surajmal and mother Shanti Devi. His other brother, Satish Chandra, works at a chemical factory in Ballabgarh, while another, Chandrabhan Singh, works at a motor company in Faridabad.
“We received the news at 8 pm on Saturday. His wife Sudha lives with her two daughters, Nidhi and Deepti, and son Gaurav, in a government accommodation in the Sonipat Police Lines. My brother was awarded the Police Medal by the governor in 2019-20,” Pradeep said.
This was the third such accident involving a swing at the Surajkund fair, raising questions about the organisers’ safety claims.
Despite a death in 2002 and an injury in 2019, Saturday saw another fatality.
In 2002, a young man died on a swing in the Surajkund fair area. At that time, swings were suspended for a few years.
Another accident in 2019 injured a young man, after which swings were again suspended before being restarted, keeping in view the revenues they generated.
According to officials, strict rules are in place for installing swings, for which daily inspections need to be conducted. (PTI)
