Did not expect this from gated community: Family
A day after the death of a six-year-old boy due to electrocution at PBEL City, a gated community, the Narsingi police has booked a case against the builder, welfare association and also the agency that has been given the contract to take care of the electrical wiring.
Monish, son of techie Diwakar, from Chennai, was studying at a private school in Bandlaguda and lived with his parents at PBEL City.
At around 6.30 pm on Monday, Monish and some other children were playing on the lawns of the complex where hundreds of residents were also present, spending their leisure time on the lawns.
Monish, while playing, went near a lamp-post and held it to swing from. He was electrocuted and was frozen for a while before collapsing.
The entire incident was captured on the residential complex's CCTV cameras. It shows that the boy was seen unattended for at least three to five minutes.
When the residents noticed Monish lying on the ground, they shifted him to a room to provide first-aid, but it was too late by then.
Inspector G.V. Ramana Goud of the Narsingi police told this newspaper that, “It is not clear if the boy suffered electrocution after touching the iron lamp-post or he stepped on the electric wires that were left loose. The parents of the boy have not lodged a complaint, but the residents have complained, alleging negligence by the builders, the agency that looks after the electrical works, and also the welfare association.” The boy’s body was taken to Chennai on Monday night, as it is his native place.
The Chennai police were informed about the incident and asked that the case be transferred there.
“After speaking to the parents of the child, a complaint was lodged at a concerned police station in Chennai. We have asked the Chennai police officials to perform an inquest and post-mortem examination and transfer the case to Telangana for investigation. A case under sections 336, 337, 338 and 304 A of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against the builders of the gated community, INCOR, an agency that looks after the maintenance, Gold Star, and also the residents’ welfare association. Nobody has been arrested in the case yet,” said Inspector Goud. Residents in PBEL City were shocked by the death of six-year-old Monish and walked out of their homes to protest about the maintenance in the gated community that led to the tragic death of the child.
Women in large numbers walked out of their homes along with senior citizens and wanted to know how a wire had been left unattended in the play area.
One of them, W. Parathasarthi, said residents were very upset. “There are 200 flats in each building and there are eight blocks which have been completed. During the time of the incident there were elderly citizens walking, women with their children in the park area. It could have happened to anyone.”
The residents gathered around the lamp-post where the incident occurred and showed the manner in which the wires were connected. The maintenance team was called in and the wiring removed before there were further casualties.
Usha Kumar, another resident, said the whole thing has been shocking. “This is a gated community and we expect standards to be maintained. This is sheer negligence on their part.”
A police official from the Narsingi station said, “Usually, if a person suffers an electric shock, the power will throw the person away. In the case of Monish, he was not wearing footwear, which could have been the reason he suffered electrocution.”
The body of the boy has been taken to Tiruvallur village in Tamil Nadu for cremation. The family has been living in the building for a year. Father Diwakar works in the software industry and mother Kalpana was at home looking after the four-year-old younger sibling.
Bala Subramani, a relative in Tamil Nadu, said the incident has shocked the family “and we are not able to come to terms with it. He would go down to play with his friends every evening and it was a normal routine of the child. No one thought that such a thing can happen in a gated community where safety aspects are taken care of.”
A case of suspicious death has also been registered at the Manvalanagar police station in Tamil Nadu. The case will be shifted to Narsingi police station for further investigation.