Bareilly Bridge Deaths: 4 PWD Engineers Booked, Google Maps Official Under Probe After Misdirection Kills 3

Bareilly Bridge Deaths: Police in Budaun filed FIR against four PWD engineers following the deaths of three men who drove off an under-construction bridge due to incorrect navigation directions.

Bareilly Bridge Deaths: Police in Uttar Pradesh's Budaun have registered a case against four engineers from the Public Works Department (PWD) and an unnamed official of Google Maps in connection with the deaths of three men. The victims, two brothers, and their friend, died after their car rolled over an under-construction bridge while following directions from the navigation app. 

The car plunged into the Ramganga River from a partially constructed bridge in the Dataganj Police Station area early on Sunday. The deceased have been identified as Nitin and Ajit, both aged 30 and from Farrukhabad district, and Amit, 40, from Mainpuri district. The three were travelling from Noida to Faridpur in Bareilly to attend a wedding when the accident occurred near the Bareilly-Budaun border, news agency PTI reported.

According to the police, the driver was misled by Google Maps, which directed them onto an unsafe route. Dataganj Police Station SHO Gaurav Bishnoi confirmed that an FIR has been filed against the four PWD engineers and some unnamed individuals. The regional officer of Google Maps is also under investigation, although his name has not yet been included in the FIR.

Bareilly Bridge Deaths: 4 Accused Charged With Culpable Homicide 

Budaun District Magistrate Nidhi Srivastava told PTI, "Apart from corrective measures at the site, an FIR under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered against two Assistant Engineers and two Junior Engineers of PWD, along with unknown persons." She also mentioned that instructions have been issued to PWD and Setu Nigam to inspect all roads, bridges, flyovers, and underpasses to ensure such incidents do not occur again.

A spokesperson for Google expressed their condolences, stating, "Our deepest sympathies go out to the families. We're working closely with the authorities and providing our support to investigate the issue."

Faridpur Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam noted that a section of the bridge had been destroyed in a flood earlier this year. The front portion had collapsed into the river, but this change had not been reflected in the system, he said. Additionally, there were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the bridge when the incident took place.