KOLLAM: Fan frenzy cost a man’s life as uncontrollable crowd, who came to see actor Dulquer Salmaan inaugurating a mall, led to a stampede at Kottarakara on Saturday.The deceased has been identified as Thiruvananthapuram native Harilal (46). The incident happened in front of iMall located on the MC Road near Kottarakara junction. A large crowd had gathered to see the actor who came to inaugurate the mall. They crowded in front of the mall and on top of nearby buildings. The traffic was halted as people spilled over to the road.
The actor came around noon. When he entered the mall premises people rushed forward to get a glimpse of the actor resulting in stampede.Harilal, a furniture dealer, fainted in the melee. Though he was rushed to a nearby hospital, he could not be saved. Others also suffered minor injuries. “He was a heart patient. The death was due to heart failure. We have completed the inquest and a post mortem will be held the next day,” said Kottarakara sub-inspector C K Manoj. The body will be released to the family after the post-mortem.
The Kottarakara police registered a case against the managing director of mall, K I Abdul Rehman, for not making enough arrangement at the venue that led to the death of a person and for creating traffic block.