MUMBAI, July 2 -- In the shadow of the death of 11-year-old Vihan Shrivastav - killed when a 70-year-old peepal tree crashed on his school bus in Chembur on Tuesday - the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) suspended three officials on Wednesday suspected of negligence towards protecting the health of the trees in the area and constituted a two-member inquiry committee to investigate the death. The suspended officials are Yogesh Parte, assistant engineer (roads), M/East ward; Jagdish Bhoir, assistant garden superintendent; and Arun Mundhe, sub-engineer (roads), M/West ward. While the suspensions follow a resolution passed by the Standing Committee on Wednesday, where corporators cutting across party lines demanded cases of culpable homicide not amounting to murder be registered against those found responsible for the tragedy, an inter-departmental conflict dominated the nearly two-hour session. The gardens department revealed two internal communications it had sent to the roads department warning that excavations "had damaged the roots of a peepal tree in Chembur which could collapse during monsoon". A copy of the communication was presented to the leader of the house Ganesh Khankar. HT has seen the communications. The first outreach was following a January 24, 2026 inspection, which underscored that excavation by the contractor of the roads department had damaged the tree's roots, compromising its stability and posing a hazard during monsoons. In order to prevent further damage, it suggested that the tree's basin be restored. A second letter, dated April 4, 2026, reiterated that excavation during road and stormwater drain works had weakened roadside trees, warning the roads department that it would be responsible if any tree collapsed. It noted that similar warnings issued earlier, described damage to trees as a punishable offence under the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975, and called for immediate corrective measures. Meanwhile, municipal commissioner Ashwini Bhide directed the newly formed two-member inquiry committee - comprising deputy municipal commissioner (special engineering) Purushottam Malvade and deputy municipal commissioner (engineering) Shashank Bhore -- to submit its report within eight days. The inquiry committee will examine the circumstances that led to the tree's collapse on Tuesday, seek expert opinion and recommend corrective measures to prevent similar incidents across Mumbai. The civic administration added that strict action will also be initiated against the contractor associated with the roadworks in the area. Following the Chembur tragedy, Bhide directed the gardens department to undertake fresh pruning and time-bound re-inspections of trees identified as potentially hazardous....