The officials were arrested in connection with the death of three men whose car rolled over an under-construction bridge in Bareilly after following Google Maps
The police in Dataganj, Uttar Pradesh have booked four engineers of the public works department and an unnamed official of Google Maps in connection with the death of three men whose car fell off an under-construction bridge while following directions on the navigation app.
The incident took place on the Bareilly-Budaun border, when 30-year-old brothers Nitin and Ajit, from Farrukhabad district, and 40-year-old Amit, from the Mainpuri district, were on their way from Noida to Faridpur in Bareilly to attend a wedding.
According to police officials, the driver was led by Google Maps into taking the unsafe route, leading to the vehicle falling into Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge in Dataganj Police Station area early Sunday.
Dataganj Police Station SHO Gaurav Bishnoi told PTI that an FIR had been filed against four engineers of the PWD, along with some unknown people.
The regional officer of Google Maps has also been brought under the scope of investigation but his name is yet to be included in the FIR.
Budaun district magistrate Nidhi Srivastava told PTI, “Apart from corrective measures at the site, FIR under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the BNS has been registered against 2 Assistant Engineers and 2 Junior Engineers of PWD and unknown persons.”
She added that directives have been issued to the PWD and Setu Nigam to inspect all roads, bridges, flyovers, and underpasses to prevent such incidents from occurring again.
A spokesperson for Google said, “Our deepest sympathies go out to the families. We’re working closely with the authorities and providing our support to investigate the issue.”
The body was reportedly discovered after some local pedestrians noticed a red-coloured suitcase, lying abandoned on the highway and informed the police. The area was very close to ATMS College under Hapur Kotwali police station.
Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Vineet Bhatnagar confirmed the discovery of the remains.