Stefanović: The manager of "Serbian Railways" did not inspect the construction of the entire facility

By order of the Special Anti-Corruption Department of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, S. K, the investment development manager of JSC "Serbian Railways Infrastructure", as well as three members of the Commission for Technical Inspection of the Railway Station in Novi Sad, were arrested today, while one is on the run, and in connection with the execution of several criminal acts with a corrupt element, which resulted in the fall of the canopy at the Railway Station on November 1, 2024, in which 15 people were killed, and two were seriously injured.

Among the arrested were M.S., the president of the Commission for Technical Inspection of the Railway Station in Novi Sad, as well as the members of that Commission, J.V. and M.N.J, while B.K. is on the run, so detention and a warrant will be proposed for her, it was added.

It is suspected that from March 25, 2024 until April 5, 2024, they carried out a technical inspection of the facility of the station building in the Novi Sad Railway Station, about which they prepared in Belgrade a Report on the technical inspection of the facility, dated April 4, 2024, which is an integral part of the Record of Technical Inspection of the facility dated April 5, 2024.

In the Report, they stated certain shortcomings, making remarks, but with the conclusion that these shortcomings do not affect the stability and functionality of the facility and system, the statement specifies.

With that report, they confirmed that the building was built in accordance with the project for the building permit and the project for the execution of works, and that in order to determine the suitability of the building for use, a test work was approved, even though they knew that the tour and inspection of the building, as well as the Record of the technical inspection from April 5, 2024, were not done in accordance with all the regulations and rules of the profession, according to the statement.

The chief prosecutor of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, Nenad Stefanović, stated that there is a well-founded suspicion that their failures are in a cause-and-effect relationship with the mentioned tragedy, because if they had acted conscientiously and performed the duty of an extraordinary inspection, as well as control of the fulfillment of conditions during the trial work itself, then they would have been able to visually observe signs of breakage and increased deflection on the canopy in the days preceding its collapse.

"Despite the recorded deficiencies, the members of the commission approved the extension of the use of the station building facility for a maximum of one year. They stated that the facility was constructed in accordance with the construction permit project and the construction project, which is not entirely correct," says Stefanović.

With that report, they confirmed that the building was built in accordance with the project for the building permit and the project for the execution of works, and that in order to determine the suitability of the building for use, a trial work was approved, even though they knew that the tour and inspection of the building, as well as the Record of the technical inspection from April 5, 2024, were not done in accordance with all the regulations and rules of the profession, according to the statement.

At the same time, the suspect B. K. did not perform an inspection of the construction of the entire facility of the station building in Novi Sad Railway Station, although she was obliged to do so, and this was stated in the Record of Technical Inspection of the facility, with which the other members of the commission were familiar, it is added.

Violation of law

"During the trial operation of the building, the members of the commission did not check the fulfillment of the conditions for issuing a use permit. They did not submit a report on this to the investor, thus violating the law on construction planning and the relevant regulations. According to the findings and opinion of the experts, the members of the commission could visually observe signs of breakage and increased deflection of the canopy before demolition, which they ignored," says Stefanović.

Failures in the technical inspection of the facility are directly related to the fall of the canopy, which led to the death of 15 people and serious injury to two others.

"The technical inspection of the building according to the law on construction planning and the corresponding rulebook is the basis for the start of the collapse of the area of ​​wing B of the Novi Sad railway station, which is why the failures of the suspects with the technical inspection of the building carried out in this way have a cause-and-effect relationship with the fall of the canopy. It is suspected that the members of the commission were aware that as a result of such negligent actions, a serious violation of the rights of others could occur, so such a violation did occur, and they were aware that altered or false documents, that is, a technical inspection of the building was carried out, to be used in legal transactions", explained Stefanović.

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Manager's responsibility

S.K., as manager for development and investments in the "Railway Infrastructure of Serbia" from September 2020 to November 2024, was responsible for the coordination and monitoring of the railway modernization and reconstruction project, as well as making decisions related to the project.

"As a responsible person in front of the investor, she submitted reports and minutes, as well as other documentation, even though she knew that the minutes of the technical inspection from April 5, 2024 were not done in accordance with all the regulations and rules of the profession, as a result of which the trial operation of the building of the Novi Sad railway station was approved for a maximum of one year," says Stefanović and adds:

"Then, knowing that the work in the vestibule of wing B was not finished, because it did not receive a confirmation of expert supervision, on July 12, 2024, it passed a decision, by which it formed a joint commission for the internal reception of wing B in the Novi Sad railway station with the task of the commission to carry out the internal reception of the vestibule of wing B of the station building, so that its reception would enable passengers to use the vestibule of wing B and all its contents, so it come into operation on July 5 in 2024," says Stefanović.

Her failure to comply with the regulations and technical rules led to the fall of the canopy and the death of 15 people and serious injuries to two more people.

"The suspect is charged with criminal acts of negligent work, abuse of official position and serious crime against general security," Stefanović said.

He pointed out that the Special Department is proceeding in this case separately from the case of the VJT in Novi Sad in which the indictment was brought, as well as separately from the preliminary investigation actions undertaken by the Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime in connection with the financing of the Railway Station Reconstruction Project in Novi Sad, because the acts of committing the criminal acts for which the suspects are charged were committed on the territory of Belgrade, although the tragic consequence occurred in Novi Sad.

He added that the case was formed after the prosecution reviewed the criminal complaint from February 2, the attached evidence and written documentation related to the criminal-legal event, which was published on the website of the Government of Serbia.