Banaskantha: Another scam involving Ajay Engi-Infrastructure Private Limited (AEIPL), the company responsible for the infamous Hatkeshwar Flyover in Ahmedabad, has come to light. The railway bridge built by the company over the Banas River in Banaskantha is in a decrepit condition. An investigation by the Vigilance Department of Western Railways has revealed that the company altered the bridge’s design and used substandard materials, including steel and cement concrete. Additionally, the beams are of inadequate depth.

Following the investigation, the Western Railway Head Office in Churchgate, Mumbai, filed an FIR against AEIPL. Chief Engineer Ashok Kumar Singh registered a case at the Shihori police station on Monday. The fraud complaint has estimated a ₹100 crore loss to the railways due to the use of low-quality piles (beams), which has put the lives of train passengers at significant risk.

The scam came to light when the sand beneath the pillars of a railway bridge in the riverbed near Umbari village washed away in 2023, leading to the probe.

The contract to build this ROB (Rail Over Bridge) was awarded to AEIPL during the construction of the Patan-Bhildi railway line. The work was completed in 2013. Ten years later, in August 2023, flooding in the Banas River washed away the sand beneath the railway bridge. Following an investigation by the vigilance department of the Mumbai-based Western Railway Head Office, 11 different defects were identified, including the exposure of the piles beneath the bridge’s pillars, in April 2024. DeshGujarat