Bengaluru
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Tejaswini, 28, and her two-and-a-half-year-old son, victims of the metro structure collapse on Tuesday morning, could have been saved if they had left for office on time, said the victim’s sister Sushma.
“Unfortunately, Tejaswini, who was working at a private company in Manyata Tech Park, was late by half an hour to office on Tuesday and became the victim,” Ms. Sushma told The Hindu.
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Tejaswani, along with her husband Lohith Kumar, 33, and their twins (a son and a daughter), were on a bike going to office while also dropping their twins to school, which is also on the tech park premises.
“Tejaswini usually is at office by 10 a.m., but on Tuesday, they were running late and met with the accident at 10.30 a.m. It is a clear negligence of authorities that I lost my sister and her baby (Vihan),” Ms. Sushma added.
The victim’s family has urged the government to punish the officials who are responsible for the death of the mother and her child. | Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K
The collapsed under-construction reinforcement structure for Namma Metro pillar on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) near HBR Layout, in Bengaluru on January 10, 2023. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Lohith Kumar is working as a civil engineer and his daughter Vismita, one of the twins, escaped with injuries and is being treated at a private hospital in HBR Layout. The family was residing in Horamavu.
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The family hails from Gadag district. Meanwhile, Lohith’s father Vijayakumar urged the government to punish the officials who are responsible for the death of his daughter-in-law and grandson. Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Vijayakumar said, “I don’t have words to express myself. Never expected that I will lose my daughter-in-law and grandson. I want those responsible for the death to be punished.”
“The government and metro agency should take all safety measures during construction work. My only request is that the other people should feel safe while travelling near the metro construction sites,” he added.
Father and daughter recovering
Meanwhile, Lohith Kumar and Vismita have suffered minor injuries and are being treated at Altius Multispeciality Hospital near Nagawara signal on Outer Ring Road. Doctors at the hospital said they are being treated as out-patients.
Mahesh S.B., anaesthetist-cum-emergency specialist at the hospital, said the mother and son were brought in a critical condition to the hospital. “Their pulse had dropped and despite all efforts to revive them, they could not survive. Both had sustained head injuries and suffered extreme blood loss,” he said.