A motorcycle-borne theatre artiste and television actor, identified as Ashok Kumar (54), died after he fell into a pit full of sewage in Hanumanthnagar early Sunday morning, according to the police.
The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had dug up the pit for construction of a culvert on Hayavadana Rao Road near Narayanaswamy Circle where the accident occurred.
Police personnel noticed the body and the motorcycle in the pit. They took the man to the hospital where he was declared brought dead.
Ashok Kumar, a native of Belur in Hassan district, was a resident of Ittamadu. He returned to Bangalore from Hosadurga in Chitradurga where he had gone for a performance with Nanda Suri and group. On reaching the city by bus, he went to his friend’s house in Chamarajpet to take his two-wheeler on which he headed home. When he was passing the Hayavadana Rao Road near Narayanaswamy Circle, Ashok Kumar’s vehicle rammed a barricade near the pit and fell into it, said the police.
Ashok Kumar’s son Abhishek alleged that the barricade was placed near the open pit only after the accident on Sunday morning.
“Locals told us that there were no signboards in the area to indicate that any work was under way and also said there were no barricades kept here earlier,”
Residents near the accident spot blamed the poor lighting on the road for the accident. Ashok Kumar had suffered head injuries. The body was shifted to KIMS Hospital for post-mortem examination.
The police have registered a case of unnatural death.
Clarification The BBMP and the BWSSB are being held responsible for the death of television artiste Ashok Kumar.
BBMP had taken up construction of a culvert on Hayavadana Road around a week ago. According to sources, when work was being done, engineers noticed that a sanitary line belonging to the BWSSB was damaged. “The BBMP engineers informed their counterparts in BWSSB about it. Sewage leaking from the damaged pipeline filled the pit due to which the construction of the culvert could not be continued,” the source added.
Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana said that the dug up portion of the road was barricaded. “We do not know the reasons for the accident. We will wait for the post-mortem report.” P.N. Sadashiva, local councillor, told The Hindu that the BBMP, after intimating the BWSSB, had put up barricades around the pit. He said there were two streetlights on either side of the pit. “The work was taken up after getting the requisite permission from the traffic police as it is a main road that connects Ramakrishna Ashram Circle to Hanumanthnagar, Gavipuram and Srinagar areas.” Mr. Sadashiva said he had urged the Mayor to announce compensation to the victim’s family.
