Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Student’s head smashed by lift car

Photo: A.Muralitharan

Horrifying experience: Shalini Singh, with her daughter, Samrudhi, narrating how she was trapped in the lift at the apartment complex in East Tambaram. Hours later, a 16-year-old boy died in an accident involving the lift. —

CHENNAI: A 16-year-old boy died in an accident involving a lift at an apartment complex on Velachery Main Road in East Tambaram on Tuesday.

The victim, P. Bharat Raj, had come to a friend’s house on the third floor flat of the complex, Jain’s Abhishek. Around 2 p.m., when he was returning home, he peeped through a gap in the lift’s front door when his head was smashed by the lift car that was coming down from the fourth floor.

Residents living in nearby apartment units called up security and maintenance staff. They also informed the Selaiyur police station.

As the lift was jammed in the vault, the maintenance staff used a lever to push it up a little and the student’s body was removed .

The body was taken to Tambaram Taluk Government Hospital (Chromepet GH) for post-mortem.

Earlier in the day, Shalini Singh and her daughter Samrudhi, about 18 months old, were trapped in the same lift for about 45 minutes when power supply was disrupted. To rescue the child first, the maintenance staff had removed the glass pane fitted on the front door. The glass pane was not put back when the lift started working after the power supply was resumed.

The Selaiyur police are investigating. Though no arrests have been made so far, a case under Section 304 (a) accidental death owing to negligence has been registered.

The victim was a Standard X student in Sri Sankara Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School in East Tambaram and lived with his parents in another apartment complex on Velachery Main Road.

His mother, Vasanthi, and father, Pichandi, are both Central government employees. Bharat Raj’s elder sister Sharmila is married and lives in T.Nagar.

“He was fond of cricket. He was jubilant after his selection to the State Under 19 cricket team was announced recently,” said A. Aravind, the victim’s cousin. “We could not believe it. We were so shocked,” said Neeta, mother of the victim’s friend Siddharth. Minutes before the incident, Bharat Raj was with Siddharth.

Vasantha Mahadevan, Headmistress of Sankara Vidyalaya, said Bharat Raj was an extremely good and talented boy.

Recalling their experience, Ms.Shalini Singh said, “It was about 11 a.m. when the lift stopped between second and third and second floors owing to a power failure. I called a neighbour who alerted the maintenance staff.”

“It was too scary and suffocating. I could have managed, but my daughter suffered too much. I will never ever take the lift again,” she said.

As news about the incident spread, other residents of the complex gathered near the block and were visibly upset. The complex is new and Kone lifts were installed in most of the nine blocks. Staff at the apartment complex said the maintenance of the elevator was being looked after by the company.

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