A 12-year-old boy was killed after a heavy firecracker fell on his head during the St. Sebastian festival at St. Lourdes Church in Cambridge Layout in Halasuru on Sunday night.
The deceased, Dhanush Kumar, had come with his uncle Santhosh to see the festival. He is the son of Suresh Kumar, a resident of Tyagaraja Nagar, and was studying in class 6 at a private school.
Around 10 p.m., the organisers of the festival burst 30 firecrackers at once. The last one – a rocket – went up, but did not burst. It fell on Dhanush’s head.
Dhanush sustained a severe head injury and was rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed, police said.
The police said that nearly 3,000 people had come from across the city to the festival, but the organisers had not taken any safety measures before bursting firecrackers. They blamed negligence for the mishap and said action will be taken based on a complaint by the family.
Family members of Dhanush, who had gathered at the Bowring Hospital, said they have been visiting the festival for the past seven years and alleged that no precautionary measures were taken: there was no ambulance, or fire and emergency service vehicle, or even a policeman.
“The organisers were bursting firecrackers 100 metres away from where we were standing. Everyone was looking at the sky and suddenly Dhanush collapsed on the ground. When we saw him, blood was flowing from his head and the rocket was next to him. The firecracker weighed around 2 kg. It fell on Dhanush. But it did not explode, so other people were saved,” said a family member.
The Halasuru police have registered a case against the organisers under section 304(a) for death due to negligence. “We have summoned the organisers and will probe whether they had taken permission from the authorities concerned to burst firecrackers. If they had not, necessary action will be taken against them,” a police officer said.
