Bihar: Three children die as concrete slab falls on Bailey Road

PATNA: Three children died when a prefabricated heavy concrete slab on which they were playing tumbled and fell upon them near Lalit Bhawan under Shastri Nagar police station in Patna around 7.30pm on Wednesday. The slab was kept near a heap of mud alongside the Bailey Road for construction work.
The deceased were identified as Keshav Kumar Yadav (13), Karan Kumar (6) and Sahil Kumar (7). Police said they were residents of the slum area of Road number 7 in nearby Punaichak.
CM Nitish Kumar condoled the tragic death of the three children and announced ex gratia payment of Rs4 lakh to the next of kin of each of the deceased.
DM Kumar Ravi, who visited the spot, ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Patna SSP Upendra Kumar Sharma rushed to the spot as the agitated local people had blocked the road, damaged the crane which was being used to lift the slab while trying to rescue the children. The locals also thrashed crane driver Randheer Kumar. They thought the slab fell down on the children while being moved by Randheer.
Police sources said Randheer was later rescued by police reinforcement sent from neighbouring police stations to bring the situation under control.
The SSP said the children were playing on the slab when it fell down. “One child died on the spot,” he said.