'No Safety Gear': How Owners' Negligence Claimed 7 Lives At Bengaluru Stone Quarry

The First Information Report in the quarry collapse on the outskirts of Bengaluru that claimed seven lives has alleged gross negligence by quarry owners, supervisors and machinery operators, accusing them of forcing labourers to work without adequate safety measures despite the known risk of rockfalls.

According to the complaint filed by a worker at the Tavarekere Police Station, the incident occurred around 7.30 am when labourers were drilling holes using tractor compressors at a stone quarry owned by Kaveri Company in Huluvanehalli village near Madapattana.

The complainant alleged that workers were not provided with essential safety equipment and that no precautionary assessment was carried out to determine whether the rock face was vulnerable to collapse before work began.

The FIR further states that excavation was simultaneously being carried out using an excavator in the neighbouring Basaveshwara Stone Quarry owned by Anandaswamy. The complaint alleges that quarry operator Pandu and excavator driver Tirupathi continued excavation despite knowing that the operation could destabilise the adjoining rock face.

At around 7.30 am, massive boulders allegedly rolled down from the neighbouring quarry onto the worksite, crushing four tractor compressors and trapping several labourers beneath the rocks.

Seven workers  Ramu, Rajpal Singh, Satyanarayana Singh, Ramrathar Singh, Dharmesh Singh, Rajesh Prasad Chaudhary and Bhuvneshwar Singh Gond  died on the spot after suffering severe head and body injuries.

Five others, identified as Nehal Singh, Anand, Gulab Singh, Rajpal Singh and Chotu Lal, sustained injuries and were shifted to Rajarajeshwari Hospital for treatment. Fire and Emergency Services personnel, along with police, later carried out a rescue operation and recovered the bodies trapped under the boulders.

Based on the complaint, police have registered a case against quarry owners Uday Shankar and Anandaswamy, quarry operator Pandu, the site supervisor, excavator driver Tirupathi and others. The FIR alleges that the accused acted negligently and irresponsibly by making workers operate in hazardous conditions without implementing mandatory safety precautions, leading to the deaths and injuries.