Pune: The court of additional sessions judge RR Mendhe has rejected the anticipatory bail plea of borewell contractor Popatrao Sopan Jagtap and landowner Dhananjay Pandharinath Mote in the Pune Metro tunnel damage case, observing a prima facie case and noting that the alleged act involved public safety and damage to public infrastructure.Khadak police registered an FIR against the two accused on March 23 under sections 125, 324 (5) and 326 (B) of the BNS along with Section 78 of the Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002.As per the prosecution case, a 6-inch diameter hole was found in the ceiling of an underground Metro tunnel, allegedly caused during borewell-related work at a property in Shukrawar Peth. The incident also led to water seepage into the tunnel, with accumulation on the Metro track.Opposing the pre-arrest bail plea, district government pleader Pramod Bombatkar submitted despite knowledge of the underground Metro alignment, the accused allegedly carried out borewell work, resulting in damage to the tunnel’s structure and financial loss. The defence argued that no new borewell was drilled and that an existing borewell was merely made operational. It contended that the accused had no intention or knowledge of causing damage, had no criminal antecedents, and that no clear Metro-related permissions or guidelines were communicated.
