Hydera​bad: Kid killed as roof of 70-year-old building falls

HYDERABAD: A 14-month-old boy died and his mother sustained injuries when a portion of an over 70-year-old dilapidated house collapsed in Sitaphalmandi on Sunday morning.
The roof collapsed around 6am while the boy, R Geetanshu, and his mother Swathi were sleeping in the bedroom. The father, Raju Yadav, had a providential escape as he had stepped out around 5.30am to his milk distribution shop barely 20 metres from the house.
Police said that the old house had water leaking from the roof every time it rained. The family has been staying in the rented house for over 10 years. “The house owner had asked them to vacate a few months back citing structural problem, however, the family continued staying,” said a cop.
“I woke to the sound of the collapse. My brother called me and we went inside the house. All I could see was debris everywhere. We along with others started removing the debris and got out my sister-in-law out. But by the time we cleared more debris to save my nephew, it was too late,” said Ramesh Yadav, uncle of Geetanshu.
Chilkalaguda SI A Varunkanth Reddy said Swathi was shifted to Gandhi Hospital with a head injury.
Inspectors from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) inspected the house and found that the front portion towards the road was made of reinforced cement concrete but the bedroom roof which collapsed was made of lime plaster.
“The building is over 70-years-old and ideally the family should not have been staying there. It is a small individual house which is hidden between other bigger buildings in the area. The house owner should have taken measures to repair the house,” said GHMC Secunderabad Zonal commissioner Raghu Prasad.
Cops registered a case under section 174 CrPc (suspicious death).