BENGALURU: It was 15 minutes of high drama on Tuesday at Dasarahalli Metro Station, near Peenya, after a drunk youth (23) jumped out of the window of a toilet on the first floor of the station. Some of the passengers who watched the scene unfold were worried as they had children with them.
According to BMRCL officials, when Sandeep, a resident of Chikkabanawara, came out of the toilet, security personnel suspected that he was carrying some solvents with him. When he was forced to go through the security check near the ticket counter, he allegedly ran back into the toilet and jumped out of the window, from a height of 25 feet.
Bagalagunte police rushed to the spot and admitted Sandeep, who suffered multiple injuries on his face and shoulder, to Sapthagiri Hospital. He is said to be out of danger.
“A security staffer saw that he came out of the toilet after consuming solvents, and stopped him. He ran towards the ticket counter, where other security men stopped him. He again rushed towards the toilet and jumped off the window,” a police officer said.
The officer said the incident occurred around 4.20pm after Sandeep entered the Metro station to board a train.
The staff found that he was drunk and did not allow him to enter the platform. He tried to avoid them, and in a bid to escape, ran to the first floor. Metro staff found him lying on the ground and called the police.
Tension gripped passengers in Dasarahalli Metro Station on Tuesday, after they witnessed a young man trying to dodge security staff and running away, before jumping off a toilet window, from a height of 25 feet.
Some of the passengers who watched the scene unfold were worried as there were children there too. The victim lay in a pool of blood for about half an hour, as Metro officials allegedly did not shift him to a hospital.
A police officer confirmed that Metro staff did not rush him to hospital and that passersby were recording the incident on their phones. Around 5 pm, Hoysala staff who reached the spot called an ambulance and took him to Sapthagiri Hospital, and later to Victoria Hospital. Though his condition is said to be stable, he is in the ICU.
Sandeep’s mother Saraswathi said, “Sandeep left home around noon, but did not say where he was going. After he discontinued college in PU, he was not working. He had gone to Muscat to work a year ago, but returned in 2018 to attend his sister’s marriage. His father Omanakuttam was informed that he fell in a Metro station, so they had rushed him to hospital. I don’t know what went wrong, but we are unable to pay his medical expenses since we work as daily wage labourers in a private factory,” she added.
Security around the station was later beefed up. It was alleged that Sandeep tried to misbehave with a passenger, but police officers clarified that Kumar C, the station controller, had given a statement before the police, which made no such allegations. He had entered the Men’s toilet when security guards tried to catch him.
According to an official release from BMRCL, a passenger at Dasarahalli Metro Station complained of misbehaviour inside the restroom by one Sandeep. “The security staff tried to question Sandeep. He rushed to the housekeeping room and jumped to the ground, nearly 25 ft from the station concourse level,” an official release said.
Operations and Maintenance executive director A S Shankar told TNIE that there had been a scuffle between two passengers in the station, as well as inside the restroom before one complained against Sandeep. “The person who jumped out of the window suffered fractures,” he added.
Asked about open spaces in the station, Shankar said the housekeeping room which stocked brooms and other cleaning equipment had a 3ft open window. BMRCL did not have any details about the complainant as he left immediately, Chavan said.