MUMBAI: Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on Thursday termed the fatal open manhole incident “extremely serious”, saying negligence by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was putting lives at risk and that merely suspending officials was inadequate. He suggested those responsible should face charges of culpable homicide.‘Suspension not enough’: Speaker seeks culpable homicide charges against BMC officials in open manhole deathThe Maharashtra government informed the state assembly that a preliminary BMC inquiry found the manhole into which 55-year-old Aslam Shaikh fell and was swept away had been opened for maintenance work, but the site lacked basic safety measures such as barricades and tripod warning signs.Minister of state for urban development Madhuri Misal said the BMC has suspended four officials for alleged negligence and constituted a committee headed by Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) Dr Vipin Sharma to study manhole death incidents and submit recommendations within seven days to prevent similar accidents.The civic body has also directed all Deputy Municipal Commissioners (DMCs) and Assistant Municipal Commissioners (AMCs) to conduct a citywide survey of manholes and submit a status report within eight days. The contractor responsible for the maintenance work has been booked by the police on a complaint filed by the BMC, Misal said.Misal told the House that Shaikh was found nearly 100 feet inside a sewage line after falling into the open manhole. She said the BMC had earlier reviewed manhole safety and issued directions to ensure all manholes were properly secured.“The preliminary inquiry indicates that the manhole was left open when a pedestrian fell into it. CCTV footage shows there were no barricades or tripod warning signs to alert pedestrians. The deceased was reportedly speaking on the phone and did not realise that the manhole was open. Regardless, no safety precautions had been taken, and the administration has viewed this lapse with utmost seriousness,” Misal said.The inquiry also found that the maintenance work was scheduled to be completed before the monsoon but was instead undertaken after the onset of the rainy season without adequate safety measures, reflecting gross negligence, she said.Misal said the committee headed by Dr Sharma has been tasked with recommending systemic measures to prevent such incidents, noting that lapses in manhole safety continue despite repeated guidelines and periodic reviews.The issue was raised by BJP MLA Ameet Satam, who demanded criminal action against the officials and contractor responsible for the lapse.Responding to the discussion, Narwekar recalled the death of actor Dr Deepak Amrapurkar in a similar incident in 2018 and said recurring negligence could not be ignored. “Mere suspension of the responsible officials will not make much difference. In my view, the officers responsible should be booked on charges of culpable homicide. The government must make a detailed statement on this issue today itself,” he said.