CHENNAI: A day after three employees were killed after a part of a roof crashed on them at a pub in Chennai, the Abhiramapuram police on Friday arrested one of the managers of the club under Section 304A (death caused by negligence). Cyclone Raj (48) of Dindigul and Max alias Hausawmlian (22) and Lally (24), both from Manipur, died on the spot after they got trapped under the debris. Forensic teams visited the spot on Friday and conducted an investigation. Police have launched a search for the owner of the club and a probe is on to ascertain the reason for the collapse.
Rescue teams recovered the bodies and sent them to Government Royapettah Hospital for postmortem late on Thursday. On Friday, family members and friends who arrived at the mortuary to collect the bodies were inconsolable and demanded help from the authorities.
Cyclone Raj’s wife Selvarani, who was accompanied by her youngest daughter, lamented, “I have lost my husband and my four children have lost their father. Who is going to take care of us?”
She alleged that the police informed them very late about the incident, but police sources said they faced difficulty in identifying the persons caught trapped under the debris and this led to some delay. The couple have four daughters aged three-and-a-half, seven, eight, and 10.
Raj, who was working at a bar belonging to the same group in T Nagar for 10 years, was moved to Alwarpet over a year ago. The girls are currently residing with their mother at their maternal grandparents’ house in Karur.
“Initially, Raj and his wife and children were staying in Chennai but since they could not afford the house rent, the family moved to Karur while Raj stayed back,” one of the relatives said.
The club pays Rs 10L to victims’ kin through lawyer
Around 1pm, when the police team arrived at the hospital, Raj’s family, and his younger brother Stephen protested saying that they would not accept the body unless the people concerned were arrested. Police then pacified them and convinced them to accept the body.
On Friday morning, Stephen lodged a complaint against the club’s management saying that they did not provide adequate safety to its employees and the club was built in an unsafe manner. He also said the collapse could have happened due to the ongoing CMRL work near the club.
A group of people, all friends and relatives of Max and Lolly, were also present at the hospital. Max’s elder sister Mary, who works at a guest house in Poonamallee, said, “I came to know about the incident around 7.45 pm. I rushed to the spot but his body was already taken to the hospital. I was then taken to the police station for formalities. I saw Max’s body only today (Friday).” Max had joined the club just two weeks ago and Lolly had been working there for the past six months, said Stephen, a common friend. Both their parents are in Manipur but cannot travel due to the ongoing problems there, Stephen said.
A police officer said, “Max and Lolly’s body will be taken to a private hospital in Porur for an embalming process following which they will be taken to the airport and from there to Manipur.” Before the bodies were sent to the private hospital, a pastor from Manipur performed the last rites. Around 3.20 pm, the bodies were handed over to friends and family members. Representatives of the club management paid Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the victims through their lawyer.
