An 18-month-old girl, who fell from an escalator at Srirampura Metro Station here and landed on the busy road on Sunday night, succumbed to injuries at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health on Monday morning.
The deceased, Hasini, was being carried by her grandfather. Her mother and grandmother were alongside.
The grandparents had been visiting their daughter and her husband, who works with a private firm and are residents of Subramanya Nagar.
According to sources, the grandfather lost his balance on the escalator leading to platform two, and the child slipped from his hands and fell from a height of around 35 feet through the gap between the railing and the escalator’s handrail.
Police officials rushed to the spot soon after the incident and recorded statements from the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) personnel at the station on the sequence of events that led to the tragic accident.
Initial investigation revealed that the gap between the railing and the escalator’s handrail had been left as it is. “The incident could have been avoided had there been a net covering that gap,” said a police official from the Subramanya Nagar Police Station.
The BMRCL has now begun working on fixing a net to cover the gap. The escalator has been switched off since the incident.
The CISF personnel, posted on security duty at the station, told The Hindu that they often have to direct commuters to be careful while using the escalators. “Not many are used to the facility. We try to guide them,” they said, adding that for the last couple of days, the number of CISF personnel on duty at the station has dropped as some of them were posted for “special duty” at Mantri Square Metro Station ahead of the launch of the six-coach train by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.
The grandfather has filed a complaint with the Subramanya Nagar police accusing BMRCL of negligence that led to the child’s death. Based on his complaint, a case has been filed against BMRCL under section 304 (A) of the Indian Penal Code (causing death by negligence). The police investigation is on.
Meanwhile, reacting to the incident, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said he had directed the BMRCL officials to ensure better safety measures are in place so that such incidents do not recur.