Following the death of 28-year-old IT professional while preparing for a zipline ride at an adventure park in Bhor taluka last week, the Pune rural police on Monday booked seven people, including the owner, operator and manager of the adventure park. Meanwhile, the park management claimed that the victim had removed her helmet for taking selfies and had leaned against a safety barricade that collapsed. The incident took place around 5.50pm on April 18 at Rajgad Water Park Resort at Varve village in Bhor taluka, around 30 kilometres from Pune. Taral Arun Atpalkar had come to the adventure park with her family and relatives. "We have booked seven people, on the charges of causing death due to negligence and for endangering life and personal safety of others. Probe suggests that since adequate safety measures were not taken, when Taral climbed up a stool on the zipline tower to tie the harness rope, she lost her balance as the stool became shaky. She fell down 30 feet after hitting the railing. If this structure had the required strength, and if it had adequate safety features such as nets in place, this accident could have been averted," said assistant inspector Tukaram Rathod, who is probing the case. Taral's uncle Nandkishor registered an FIR early Monday, based on which police have booked manager Anil Jadhav, adventure manager Dilip Gosavi, staffers Vishal Kumar, Shriramesh Kumar and Swapnil Diwale. The FIR mentions the operator and the owner of the resort, but the officials said their names will be added after reviewing the ownership and licence documents. Meanwhile, owner of Rajgad Water Park Hemant Sonawane said, "We have been operating the water park for the past 15 years, and the adventure sports section came only in 2018. Since then, no accident has ever occurred." "Safety is our topmost priority, which is why we have adequate staff with valid adventure licences and around five years of experience,” said Sonawane adding "March to mid-June is the prime season, with average footfall of over 200 on weekends. We abide by the capacity limits and do not breach standard operating procedures for any enthusiast at the adventure centre." According to park’s adventure manager Dilip Gosavi, standard safety protocols were followed before Taral and her family members entered the adventure zone. "We first verified that safety checks, such as protective headgear were worn and safety belts were attached to the harness, before the victim entered the adventure circuit," Gosavi told The Indian Express. However, Gosavi claimed the accident occurred as safety rules were flouted. "At the starting point of the zipline, the victim had removed her helmet to take selfies with her two family members at a height of approximately 30 feet. While leaning to take a picture, their combined weight broke the rod from the safety barricade on the zipline launch platform, due to which she lost her balance and fell to the outer side of the circuit, where safety nets were not present. Our attendant present there managed to save the other two ladies who were about to fall. If Taral had kept her helmets on, this tragedy could have been avoided." Meanwhile, Taral’s family remains in mourning. A family member of the victim said, "Nothing can compensate for our loss or bring Taral back. We don’t want to complicate the matter by commenting on the accident. We have accepted the unfortunate event, submitted the required testimonials to the police and expect the authorities to take appropriate action."
