Engineers, contractors arrested in Surat tank collapse incident

Surat | Gujarat — The collapse of an overhead water tank in Tadkeshwar village of Surat has triggered swift police action and exposed what officials describe as gross negligence and compromised construction quality. In a major crackdown following strict directions from the Gujarat government, Mandvi police have arrested seven accused so far, including two engineers and five construction agency owners, sending a strong message against corruption in public infrastructure projects.

The arrests come after the water tank collapsed during trial testing, even before its inauguration, injuring three workers and releasing lakhs of litres of water, creating flood-like conditions in the village. The incident raised serious questions about quality control, accountability and misuse of public funds.

According to police officials, intensive interrogation of all arrested accused has begun to identify other individuals involved in the alleged scam. “This was not an accident, but a result of negligence and poor-quality construction. We are probing the entire chain of responsibility,” a senior police officer said. Separate teams have been formed to trace absconding accused, and further arrests are likely.

Following the incident, the Gujarat government acted swiftly, suspending Deputy Executive Engineer Jay Chaudhary and Executive Engineer Rajnikant Chaudhary with immediate effect. Two construction agencies—Jayanti Super Construction and Babulal Ambalal Patel—have been blacklisted across Gujarat. Payments to the contractor have been stopped, and notices have been issued to the contractor and the project management consultant.

MLA Kunwarji Halpati confirmed the action, stating, “Two engineers have been suspended immediately and two agencies have been blacklisted. Fourteen villages were supposed to benefit from this tank, and such negligence will not be tolerated.”

Officials have collected material samples from the site, and both departmental and criminal investigations are underway. Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi has also attacked the BJP government on social media, calling the collapse a symbol of corruption in infrastructure projects.