Magisterial probe to be completed within week

We have received orders from the government. Solan additional deputy commissioner Zafar Iqbal will conduct the probe. A team of officials will visit the resort to gather information about the incident. KRITIKA KULHARI, deputy commissioner, Solan

SHIMLA : A day after 11 tourists were stuck mid-air in a cable car at Timber Trail in Parwanoo, the state government on Tuesday set a seven-day deadline for the completion of the magisterial probe.

Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur had on Monday ordered a magisterial probe to ascertain the reason behind the cable car developing a technical snag. Solan deputy commissioner Kritika Kulhari said, “We have received orders from the government. Solan additional deputy commissioner Zafar Iqbal will conduct the probe. A team of officials will visit the resort to gather information about the incident.”

FIR against resort management

Police have booked the Timber Trail Resort Management under Section 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). A case was registered on the statement of Anand Goyal, a resident of Vivek Vihar in Delhi, who was among the stranded persons.

Goyal, in his statement to the police, alleged that the incident took place due to negligence of the resort’s management. The 11 tourists, all of whom were from Delhi, were on their way from the Timber Trail Resort (2,000 ft above sea level) to Timber Train Heights and Terrace Resort (5,000 ft above sea level) when their cable car got stick midway. It took around six hours to rescue the stranded persons.

The cable car had also made headlines in 1992 when 11 passengers, mostly couples, were stuck mid air after a cable broke near the docking station.

The operator of the cable car jumped from a height of 1,500 feet and died after hitting his head on the rock.

The tourists were rescued by the Indian Air Force in a joint operation carried out by the 152-helicopter unit based at Sarsawa in Uttar Pradesh, 1 Para Commando unit at Nahan, Himachal Pradesh, and an engineers’ unit at Chandimandir. The operation was helmed by then Group Capt Fali H Major, who later rose to become the IAF chief later in his career. A para commando used a helicopter winch to land on top of the car. He opened the escape hatch on top of the car and lifted up the passengers, one at a time.