BENGALURU: “Why didn’t the BBMP cover the drain with a slab? What is the point of doing this after somebody has died?” asked an inconsolable Geetha. Her son Jayaprakash died on Friday after he was washed away in an open drain in Sheshadripuram.
Geetha, who is yet to recover from the shock of her son’s death, told Express, “I lost my son due to the negligence of BBMP officials. Giving compensation is not a solution. It will never prevent such an incident. Life is more precious than just compensation.” Jayaprakash K alias Arun was only 18 years old and had started working as a mechanic at a home appliances store a month ago.
Rajanna, a relative, said, “He was offered a monthly salary of `6,000. He had discontinued his studies because he had to look after his mother and sister after his father death due to an illness. Geetha works as a maid while her daughter works part time at a bookstore. The family lives in a rented house.”
Raju was with his friend Arun when the incident took place. Recalling the horror, Raju said, “We were returning home after repairing a refrigerator in Jayanagar.
I was riding my scooty while Arun was riding pillion. At 8.15pm we reached Shivananda Circle when my vehicle broke down. He got down from the scooter and started walking. I was pushing my vehicle to cross the underpass. Suddenly I heard a passerby screaming as a boy fell into a drain. I went to see who it was.
I tried calling Arun but his phone was switched off. Then I heard a passerby giving the physical description of the victim and I was shell-shocked. I started searching for Arun but nobody came near the drain due to the strong water current.
“I called the police who then alerted fire and emergency personnel. After checking for four-and-a-half hours, his body was found stuck at a grill meant to stop plastic waste. The spot was one km away from where he fell into the drain,” he added. BBMP Mayor G Padmavathy visited Arun’s family and assured to give his sister Anitha a government job.
‘Family did not blame anyone in complaint’
A senior police officer from Sheshadripuram police station said Arun’s family did not blame BBMP of negligence in their police complaint. As a result, a case of unnatural death has been registered.