BENGALURU: A 12-year-old boy died after a sliding gate fell on him at the premises of Dassault Systems, a multinational aviation systems company, in Jayanagar 3rd Block on Friday evening. The newly installed gate derailed when the boy was playing on it. Police have filed a case of negligence against the company staff.
The deceased has been identified as Manjunath, son of late Kumar. His mother Chandramma, is a domestic maid, living in Jayanagar 6th Block. Manjunath was studying in 6th standard in a private school in the locality.
A senior police officer said the incident occurred around 4.30pm when Manjunath, along with two of his friends, was playing near the office premises. He climbed the gate repeatedly while his friends were standing nearby. The gate got dislodged from the railing and he fell along with it, with his head taking the full brunt of the metal gate. A security guard who noticed the incident, rushed Manjunath to a private hospital nearby. Manjunath’s two friends were unhurt in the mishap.
Police have registered a case of negligence against the manager of Dassault Systems but the official’s statement is yet to be recorded.
A grief-stricken Chandramma told The New Indian Express, “Manjunath left home around 3.30pm to play as he had no school. He did not tell me where he was going. My neighbour Surya alerted me about the incident. His friends ran away from the scene after the gate fell on my son. The security personnel were not standing near the gate. The mishap could have been prevented if the gate was installed properly.”
Anand C, an eyewitness, told Express that he was passing by the spot after work at a nearby college when he heard some sound. “I heard the crash of the falling gate and saw the boy stuck under the gate. A group of people who were having tea at a stall nearby rushed to help him and lifted the gate.”
“I and another local took the boy on my scooter to a hospital nearby and he was referred to another hospital where he was declared brought dead. By then, police reached the spot and I headed home in Chandra Layout. Two of his friends were screaming when the gate fell down and soon they disappeared,” Anand added.