Nine-year-old Rachel Prisha, who died on Feb. 10 after being in a coma for 701 days after a dry branch fell on her on March 11, 2020, was laid to rest on Feb. 11.
“Once as humans we give birth to children, we look after them, tend to them at every stage. Likewise I pray to the city’s civic body not to just plant trees and forget about them but tend to them regularly, so that there are no accidents like what we suffered. No parent should go through what we have gone through,” said her grief-stricken father Raju Y. after he performed the last rites of his daughter.
He was dropping her off to school on his scooter when the branch fell on the girl. The family has lost their only child and the two years of trauma has also added to their woes. “The civic body has promised to pay all the medical bills. There is a big bill pending at Manipal Hospitals which is yet to be cleared, but the hospital never asked us. BBMP has also been clearing bills from time to time,” Raju said.
Looking after his daughter at the hospital took a toll on his business and he had to close his shop where he sold mobile phones. Over the years his debts have accumulated to ₹12 lakh. “I can recover my losses and move ahead in my life, I only hoped I could save my daughter and take her along with me, but that was not to be,” he said.
Meanwhile, K.R. Puram police have updated the FIR against concerned BBMP officials and added Section 304A of Indian Penal Code for “causing death due to negligence”.
