MANGALURU: Teju Kumar, brother of Ashwini, who was injured in the landslide at Montepadav near Deralakatte in Mangaluru on Friday, has filed a complaint with the Konaje police, accusing the local Panchayat Development Officer (PDO), engineers and contractors of the zilla panchayat, and officials of the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Ltd (KRIDL) of carrying out unscientific work on the hill above the house that resulted in the landslide.
In the landslide on Friday in which their house was flattened, Ashwini and her father-in-law Kanthappa Poojary suffered serious injuries, while her children — Aryan (3) and Aarush (2) — and her mother-in-law Prema Poojary died. Both legs of Ashwini, who is being treated at a private hospital in Deralakatte, have been amputated, while Kanthappa is being treated at the same hospital. Ashwini is stable, and her condition is being monitored.
Teju stated in the complaint, “Following heavy rain, a portion of the hill collapsed on the house of my brother-in-law Seetharam at 3.30 am on Friday. Seetharam’s father Kanthappa Poojary suffered a fracture in his leg, while my sister’s children and my brother-in-law’s mother died. Seetharam is devastated by the tragedy. Three lives were lost because of the unscientific road work taken up by the officials on the hill above the house.”
He blamed Manjanady Gram Panchayat PDO Chaitra, KRIDL officials and engineers, and contractors of the ZP for taking up “negligent and unscientific work on the hill”. He alleged that the PDO and KRIDL officials were aware of the possibility of a mishap, but still carried out the work. “They must be booked under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 106 (death by negligence) of BNS ,” he stated in the petition to the police.
Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy told TNSE that a case of unnatural death has already been registered by the Konaje police regarding the incident.
“The police have received a petition from Teju Kumar. If any evidence is found in support of the contents of the petition, relevant law will be applied and action will be taken accordingly,” Reddy said.