Thirteen People Indicted Over Novi Sad Railway Station Collapse

Novi Sad Railway Station (BETAPHOTO/DRAGAN GOJIC)

On Dec. 30, Novi Sad’s High Public Prosecutor’s Office indicted 13 people suspected of responsibility for the Nov. 1 collapse of a concrete overhang at the city’s newly-renovated central railway station, which left 15 people dead and two more critically injured.

Among the indicted are former minister of construction, transport and infrastructure Goran Vesic, his former assistant for rail and intermodal transportation Anita Dimoski and the last two directors of the Serbian Railway Infrastructure company – Jelena Tanaskovic and Nebojsa Surlan. The indictment cites reasonable suspicion that the accused committed a grave act against public safety tied to criminal public endangerment.

“Considering the tragic repercussions of the events of Nov. 1, the Novi Sad Public Prosecutor’s Office expects that the Novi Sad Higher Court will quickly confirm the indictment to ensure that the proceedings in this case continue in an urgent and efficient manner, which will further enable the scheduling of a main hearing and the determining of the criminal responsibility of all the accused,” the Prosecutor’s Office wrote on its website.

“The indictment was issued following the conclusion of the criminal proceedings’ investigative phase, once the Investigation Conclusion Order was filed,” the statement explained.

The press release went on to say that the indictment was filed with the Novi Sad Higher Court and includes the complete documentation collected during the pre-investigative and investigative proceedings, as well as all the other evidence of reasonable suspicion upon which the indictment was based.