Date:03/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/03/stories/2008110356850100.htm

New Delhi

Another Metro mishap injures two

Staff Reporter

A teenaged girl and her three-year-old cousin are the latest victims

Photo: R. V. Moorthy

Khushboo who was hurt in the Metro mishap.

NEW DELHI: A three-year-old girl and her teenaged cousin were injured when an iron reinforcement bar fell on them at a Delhi metro construction site in Lajpat Nagar here on Saturday night.

The incident took place around 8 p.m. when Bhawna (18) and her cousin Khusboo were taking a walk inside the premises of Rajkumari Amrit Kaur College of Nursing. “The two were strolling near the boundary wall of the college when an iron rod from one of the piers at the construction site fell on them. Khusboo was hit on her head and began to bleed profusely. Bhawna also received cuts on her face,” said Meena Ram, Bhawna’s father who works as a driver in the college.

“We immediately took the girls to a nearby hospital. But the hospital authorities refused to treat them. We then took them to All-India Institute of Medical Sciences Trauma Centre. Khusboo received 17 stitches on her head and was discharged in the morning. Bhawna has swelling on her face,” he added.

Khusboo’s parents live in Himachal Pradesh. She had come to stay with her cousin’s family in the Capital a few days ago.

Blaming workers at the construction site for trying to destroy evidence, Meena Ram said they tried to remove the iron rod before the police arrived at the spot. “They wanted to remove the iron rod, but residents of the campus soon gathered at the spot. We did not let them remove the rod and it led to a minor altercation. A few minutes later, the police reached the spot and took away the iron rod,” he added.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation spokesperson Anuj Dayal said the incident occurred due to bending of the iron reinforcement bar and the Chief Project Manager would enquire into the matter.

Two persons, including a Blueline bus driver, were killed and over a dozen injured when a 34-metre stretch of an under-construction corridor of the metro railway collapsed at Laxmi Nagar a fortnight ago. The accident had taken place when a concrete segment was being lifted to construct the elevated span between Laxmi Nagar and Nirman Vihar.