The Jayanagar police on Saturday summoned the owners of the Nanda building and the security staff of Dassault Systemes for questioning following the death of 12-year-old K. Manjunath on Friday evening.
He was crushed to death when an iron gate on the company’s compound fell on him.
Manjunath, along with two of his schoolmates Darshan and Sai Mohan, was reportedly playing on the gate that had trolley wheels mounted on a slider track. According to police, the accident happened when wheels jumped off the slider and fell on the victim.
“Though crores of rupees had been spent on the aesthetics of the building, the fabrication work of the two main gates was engineered in an unscientific manner,” said the police, who have booked a case of criminal negligence. “We are collecting and collating evidence to establish and fix culpability,” the police added.
The two long-sliding gates, installed in front of Dassault Systemes, measure over 25 feet long and have a height of four feet. They weigh more than half a tonne.
The three boys – Manjunath (deceased), Darshan and Sai Mohan – who were passing by the gates decided to stop and play in the area. They pushed the second gate, which rolled off on its sliding track as the stopper was worn out.
“The entire weight of the gate came down on Manjunath's head near his temple causing a posterior skull fracture,” said a police officer.
“Had the sliding gates been bolstered with bigger metal stoppers on the track-end, the wheels wouldn’t have come out,” said the officer, who inspected the scene of accident with jurisdictional BBMP officials, said.
Manjunath succumbed to injuries on way to the hospital.
No security staff
The security staff at the building gate were away when the incident took place, and no one noticed the boys playing. The police handed over Manjunath’s body to the family members after post-mortem at the KIMS Hospital on Saturday.
Manjunath’s father Kumar died seven years ago, and he is survived by mother Chandramma and brother Gautham.
