A 26-year-old woman was killed when a chunk of mortar from the Ameerpet Metro Station peeled off and fell on her head on Sunday afternoon.

The victim, K. Mounika, and her cousin Likitha were taking shelter from rain under the Metro station when the accident took place around 3.30 p.m.

Mounika, a resident of KPHB Colony Phase III, reached Ameerpet in a Metro train from KPHB to look for hostel for Likitha, who had come from Peddapalli on Saturday, said Punjagutta ACP M. Thirupathanna.

Police version

“They got down and were standing next to the staircase under the station building as it was raining heavily. A few minutes later, a large portion of the mortar from the surface wall fell on her head, causing a fatal injury,” the ACP said.

She was rushed to Aster Prime Hospital in the area, where doctors declared her brought dead, the officer said and added that her body was shifted to Gandhi Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Based on a complaint lodged by her husband, Harikanth Reddy, a software engineer, S.R. Nagar police registered a case of suspicious death.

Mounika, a native of Peddapalli district, got married to Mr. Harikanth Reddy last year.

Compensation

Describing her death as a freak and an unfortunate accident, Hyderabad Metro Rail MD N.V.S. Reddy said, “the sharp edge of the concrete piece fell on a young lady’s head from about nine metres’ height and she, unfortunately, succumbed to the head injury, while being taken to a nearby hospital by our staff.” He said adequate compensation would be paid to the victim’s family. However, they did not make any comments on the quality of construction and maintenance of the station.