Eyewitnesses blame railway’s negligence for Pithampur crane accident:Victim’s son says, ‘Father remained trapped under vehicle for 4 hours’

Two people died after being crushed under a crane that overturned during railway construction work in Pithampur, Dhar, on Thursday morning. The incident took place around 9 AM when a crane was lifting a girder on a railway overbridge under construction. During the operation, the crane lost balance and overturned onto a passing pickup vehicle. Pickup driver Abhay Patidar died on the spot, while cleaner Kalyan Parmar succumbed to injuries later during treatment. However, police sources claim that Kalyan had also died on the spot, but to calm the local crowd, officials sent him to the hospital under the pretext that he was injured. An FIR has been registered against the crane operator and the contractor. Police have launched an investigation into the incident. ‘Father remained trapped for four hours,’ says son The family of deceased Kalyan Parmar has accused the railway and administration of negligence, claiming that the road should have been closed during girder-lifting work. Kalyan’s elder son Lokesh Parmar said, This accident happened due to railway’s negligence. They did not block the road; people were moving freely. There was no barrier. My father was trapped under the crane for four hours. When I went to help him, police drove me away. Railway is saying that the pickup hit the crane, but that’s false — the crane itself overturned. Kalyan’s younger son Satish Parmar added that his father had left home that morning to get a truck tire repaired. ‘He said he’d come back soon and have lunch with us. Before that, the news of the accident came,’ he said. According to the family, railway workers had been carrying out similar work a day earlier without safety measures in place. “The railway department is entirely responsible for this accident,” Lokesh said. On the other hand, the family of driver Abhay Patidar — his mother and sister — are in shock and currently unable to speak to anyone. Railway officials claim pickup collided with crane Railway PRO Khemraj Meena said the incident occurred during the shifting of a girder when a pickup van allegedly crossed a safety barrier and hit the crane’s support, causing it to lose balance. ‘The crane fell on a Magic van parked nearby,’ he said. The railway has imposed a ₹5 lakh penalty on the contractor responsible for the work and ordered a detailed inquiry. Meena also claimed that the railway had written to the local administration two months earlier, requesting closure of the road during construction. He said, Despite this, people continued using the narrow road, often entering the site forcefully. The accident happened because of that. However, the local administration has not yet responded to this claim. Police confirm crane operator’s negligence ASP Parul Belapurkar confirmed that a case has been registered against the crane driver and the contractor under sections of negligence leading to death. ‘Investigation has started, and responsibility will be fixed after the inquiry,’ she said. Eyewitnesses say, ‘Crane sunk due to soft ground’ Eyewitnesses at the site have contradicted the railway’s version. Sohel Khan, who was present when the accident occurred, said there were no safety arrangements. He said, The body was removed almost four hours after the accident. There were no officers present at the site. Another witness, Rubina Khan, said the crane was working to place cement pillars without a single railway official monitoring the process. ‘No iron plates were placed beneath the crane. As soon as it lifted the weight, one side of the crane sank into the ground,’ she said. Advocate Rajesh Chaudhary also pointed to poor safety practices. ‘The crane was set on wooden beams instead of iron plates. The soil was soft, and the service road incomplete — that’s why it sank,’ he said, adding that both the railway department and the contractor were negligent. Indore–Dahod rail project work underway The crane collapse took place at Sagar Kutti village on the Dahod–Indore new railway line project, which falls under the Western Railway’s Ratlam Division. The overbridge under construction — numbered 236A — is part of this project near level crossing 39. The project, spanning 204 kilometers, was approved in 2008–09 with an initial estimated cost of ₹640 crore. The cost has since risen to over ₹2,200 crore by 2025. Work is ongoing across multiple stretches of the line, and Thursday’s accident has raised serious questions about safety compliance during construction. Investigation continues Following the accident, senior police officials and railway engineers reached the site. The crane and damaged vehicles have been seized for technical inspection. Authorities said post-mortem examinations and mechanical testing will help determine whether the collapse was caused by structural failure or operator error. Meanwhile, the families of both victims have demanded compensation and strict action against those responsible. The district administration has assured a detailed inquiry into the matter.