Bhubaneswar, Sept. 10: Police today registered a criminal case against the private contractor and some works department officials in connection with the collapse of the railway overbridge that led to the death of one person.

'A case has been registered against the private contractor and works department officials under several sections, including section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), of the Indian Penal Code,' said deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi.

Panda Infraproject Ltd was awarded the tender for the construction of the overbridge that is already running almost four years behind schedule.

The overbridge having a length of around 1.6km is a three-way link passing over railway tracks near Saheed Nagar on Cuttack Road.

Works department officials said the initial plan was to build a two-way bridge connecting Rasulgarh and Saheed Nagar. But later, the plan was changed and the third-way was decided to link Bomikhal.

A joint project of the Indian Railways and works department, the flyover was designed to ensure safe passage of commuters over the level crossing.

While the railway completed the main structure over the tracks well within time, the construction being carried out under the aegis of the works department was delayed due to several reasons that included encroachment and the need to demolish government quarters.

'It has taken several years and the work was expedited only a few months ago but with the mishap we apprehend will further delay completion of the project. The construction has led to traffic congestion in the area for several years,' said Jivan Jena, a local resident.

'We will ensure that the construction is not affected after the mishap. The work will resume soon after the probe is over. Besides, we will ensure that the other projects carried out by the private party is not affected,' said chief engineer (roads) Om Prakash Patel.

Sources said the private contractor was also constructing two other railway overbridges at Jatani and Old Town area.

This is the third major incident of collapse of bridges in the state in the past three years. In July, a slab of the under construction Gurupriya bridge at Chitrakonda in Malkangiri had collapsed injuring a few labourers. Similarly in August 2014, a bridge coming up over the Mahanadi to connecting Banki and Athagarh in Cuttack had collapsed. Twenty persons, including an engineer, were injured in the accident.

President of All Odisha Contractors' Association Pravat Dash has demanded stringent action against works Department official for today's mishap that has left 16 labourers injured.

'The works department have shown leniency towards the private contractor though it failed to complete the construction in the scheduled time. The state government should initiate action against the top officials of the department officials for negligence in duty that caused the mishap,' Dash said.

Huge loss

A pall of gloom descended at the Capital Hospital during the post-mortem of Satyabrata Patnaik.

The family members had to rush to AIIMS to attend to Patnaik's injured eight-year-old daughter Sheetal. They later returned to the Capital Hospital to take the body of the businessman.

'Like any other Sunday he went to pick up his only child from her dance class. But little did he know that it would be the last trip with Sheetal,' said Shyamalendu Patnaik, brother of Satyabrata.

'When we came to know about the accident, we rushed to the Capital Hospital to find him lying dead. We pray that the little girl will recover fast at the AIIMS. My younger brother had to pay with his life for the fault and negligence of those involved in the construction of the bridge,' he said.