Scientific inquiry launched into woman’s death at bank

KOCHI: The Perumbavoor police on Tuesday launched a scientific inquiry into the death of the 43-year-old woman at Perumbavoor, who died on Monday after bumping into a bank’s glass door, which shattered and a broken piece pierced her stomach. A scientific expert team of the police inspected the A M Road branch of Bank of Baroda at Perumbavoor, the spot of the incident.

The probe was launched after the relatives of Beena Noby, the deceased, lodged a complaint alleging serious lapses on the bank’s part. They alleged the bank authorities installed a low-quality glass door at its entrance. Perumbavoor CI C Jayakumar said they had registered a case of “accidental death under CrPC Section 174.

“It may be changed depending on our findings. The police are examining whether there was any lapse on the bank’s part. For this, we will check whether there are any norms related to installation of glass doors,” Jayakumar said. The bank is functioning in a rented building and was previously occupied by Vijaya Bank since 2013. In April, it was turned into a Bank of Baroda branch following a merger. “The bank officials are not sure whether the frame is fitted with toughened glass and said the door had been in use since Vijaya Bank occupied the space,” said a police officer.

The Perumbavoor municipality has directed its engineering division to inspect the building. The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and its chairman Justice Antony Dominic has ordered Ernakulam rural  police chief K Karthik and the Perumbavoor municipal secretary to submit a report within three weeks.   

Beena’s body was handed over to relatives after the postmortem.  The body was brought to her residence at Mankuzhy near Koovappady by 6pm. The relatives said the burial will be held at 10am on Wednesday.

Architects slam banks for compromising on quality

The Indian Institute of Architects (IIA), Kerala chapter, has come out strongly against the use of sub-standard materials in interior works. According to L Gopakumar, chairman, IIA-Kerala chapter, the banks that award tender to the lowest bidder all for the sake of profit are the culprits. “The wrong policies of banks too are to be blamed for such occurrences,” he said. “The tendency of the contractors to compromise on quality of materials is the main reason behind the fall in quality,” he said. According to him, just as laws have been made to weed out frauds in the medical field, the government should take similar steps in the construction sector. IIA-Kerala chapter will soon conduct an independent investigation to check whether public buildings conform to safety rules.