BENGALURU: A 27-year-old security guard of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) was killed, and his 24-year-old colleague severely injured when the sliding iron gate, weighing almost half-a-tonne, at the main entrance of the premier scientific institute, collapsed on them on Sunday afternoon.
The deceased was identified as Gautam Biswal, a native of Odisha, who had been working as gatekeeper for three years. The massive and heavy gate collapsed on his head after it lost support on being opened beyond the safe limit.
Another guard, an eyewitness to the tragedy, told TNIE on condition of anonymity: “This gate operates on a bearing to gather support. There are two gates which should not be opened completely, as they fall due to lack of support. These were in the process of being replaced when someone slid them beyond the safe point. Since it was a Sunday, there were only security guards, otherwise the number of casualties could have been higher, with students or faculty members getting injured or killed.”
The incident was caught on CCTV, and clearly shows the gate falling on the guards, when Biswal pulls it to, after a car passes in.
The security guards had earlier reportedly complained to the institute authorities about the gate, which lacked a gate stopper and lock system, without which it opened more than required, and beyond which there was no support for the heavy iron gates. But despite the authorities receiving the complaints, they failed to instruct the engineers or contractors.
Another security guard, Yudhistir Nayak, who rushed to rescue Biswal, sustained minor injuries on his shoulder, a woman security staffer who is also an eyewitness, said.
Biswal’s colleague, Anil Kumar, 24, from Bihar, was standing next to Biswal when the gate collapsed, leaving Kumar with a broken left leg. He is currently being treated at MS Ramaiah Hospital, where Biswal’s postmortem too was conducted.
The incident sparked tension on the institute campus, with several security guards staging a protest over the death due to negligence on the part of the contractor.
Sadashivnagar police, under whose jurisdiction the case falls, rushed to the spot and soothed tempers among the colleagues of the deceased. They assured them that action would be taken against those guilty of negligence. The incident occurred at 1.30pm, opposite the BHEL premises at the gate facing CV Raman Road.
Substandard quality of work is being blamed for the mishap, and a case of negligence is filed against the contractor. The gate was being replaced with a new one and work has been going on from the past three months, according to Sadashivnagar police investigating the case.
Based on a complaint by the third security guard, Yudistir Nayak, Sadashivnagar police are probing the case. A supervisor who was at the spot when the incident occurred, was detained for questioning, a police officer added.
Biswal was unmarried and lived on the IISc premises with his colleague. Chandrashekar, a relative of Biswal, said, “Biswal had returned from his hometown just a week ago, after attending his elder brother’s wedding. His parents had called him over phone in the morning and he had spoken to them for about 10 minutes before leaving for duty.”