Pimpri-Chinchwad crash: Maharashtra govt to pay Rs 3 lakh to kin

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday announced a Rs 3 lakh compensation each to the kin of persons who were killed when a huge advertising hoarding collapsed on them in Pimpri-Chinchwad in Pune district, while a case of culpable homicide was lodged by the police in connection with the incident.

Five persons, including four women, were killed and three others injured on Monday evening when an iron hoarding crashed on them due to strong winds on a service road in Pimpri-Chinchwad, an industrial town.

Shinde announced a compensation of Rs 3 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, said an official statement here.

Meanwhile, the Pimpri-Chinchwad police have registered an offence against three people -- the owner of the land where the hoarding was erected, its manufacturer and the person who hired the structure -- and also the firm whose advertisement was displayed on the board.

The offence was registered under section 304 (punishment culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

As per the police, the hoarding was erected on the service road off the Pune-Mumbai highway in the Ravet area without permission from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.

"Some people had taken shelter under a tyre repair shop located beneath the iron hoarding during strong winds. Suddenly, the structure came crashing down on them, killing five persons and injuring three others," a police officer had said.