Bengaluru: 3-year-old girl falls into drain, dies

A three-year-old girl died after she accidentally fell into a stormwater drain near Doddabommasandra bus stop in Vidyaranyapura police limits on Tuesday morning.
The child’s mother Lakshmi breaks down at her residence in Vidyaranyapura on Tuesday
The child’s mother Lakshmi breaks down at her residence in Vidyaranyapura on Tuesday

BENGALURU: A three-year-old girl died after she accidentally fell into a stormwater drain near Doddabommasandra bus stop in Vidyaranyapura police limits on Tuesday morning. The deceased is Tanushree, daughter of Sabanna and Lakshmi who hail from Kalaburagi. They had moved to the city about five years ago and are daily-wage workers.

Tanushree;
Tanushree;

According to police, about 30 families which migrated from Kalaburagi to the city, had erected sheds on private property next to the drain and were living there.

Around 9.30 am on Tuesday, Tanushree, who was playing in front of the sheds, suddenly went missing. After a while, her parents realised she was not around and started looking for her. After about 30 minutes, they were shocked to find her body in the drain.
Police, who learnt about the incident, rushed to the spot and sent the body for post-mortem examination.

the stormwater drain where the
girl fell to her death
| NAGESH POLALI

“Preliminary investigation revealed that sites were allotted for free to the weaker sections of the society by the state government a few years ago. The migrant families were living in sheds erected on those sites. We are trying to trace the owners of the sites,” a police officer said.

Tanushree’s mother Lakshmi said that her daughter would play in front of the shed every day. “She used to play there every morning. Even on Tuesday, she was playing as usual. But when she was not found for about 30 minutes, we went in search of her. When she was found in the drain, we could not believe it. She had already passed away.”

The Vidyaranyapura police have registered a case of death due to negligence against unnamed site owners, officials of the BWSSB and the Storm Water Drain wing of the BBMP. The autopsy was conducted at M S Ramaiah Hospital and the body was handed over to her parents.

Mayor Sampath Raj visited the spot and ordered the suspension of Basavaraju, Assistant Engineer of the Doddabommasandra BBMP ward, on charges of negligence and dereliction of duty.

“The BWSSB was carrying out works and thus there was much water in the drain. Local residents have blamed this for the mishap. We will look into the allegations and take appropriate action,” the Mayor said, adding that BBMP will give compensation of `5 lakh to Tanushree’s family.

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