CHENNAI: A 13-year-old deaf boy crossing the railway tracks near his house at Mathur Colony near Tiruttani was killed by an oncoming train on Thursday morning. The boy had gone out to relieve himself in the open because there was no toilet in the government-built house his family was living in. Police sources said he may not have heard the approaching train due to a hearing impairment he had had since birth.
The deceased was identified as K Surya Prakash, a Class 8 student at the Government Middle School in Mathur Panchayat. His father, T Kalidasan, is a daily-wage worker and his mother is a homemaker. He also has an elder sister.
Speaking to TNIE, Kalidasan said the family lived in a government-built house without a toilet and had initially petitioned the government for one but had received no response. The family was left with no choice but to use vacant plots in the surrounding area to relieve themselves. “My son sometimes uses the railway tracks and sometimes other places to relieve himself. It is not just our house, several houses in this panchayat do not have toilets,” he said.
When contacted, the block development officer for Mathur Panchayat, Selvi, said toilets were generally constructed for group houses under a government scheme. “I’m not aware of how the toilets were left out in this particular case. I will look into the matter,” she said.
Police sources said Surya Prakash had gone alone to the railway tracks around 7.50 am to relieve himself and was crossing the single track when the train hit him, killing him on the spot.
The Arakkonam GRP sent the body to Tiruvallur Government Medical College Hospital for postmortem, after which his relatives took the body home, sources said. A case has been registered under Section 194 of the BNSS, and further probe is under way.