Hyderabad: A day after one student died and 17 others were injured in an accident during dandiya celebrations at MVSR Engineering College, Adibatla police booked the college management and the event manager, engaged to organise the event, for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 105 of the BNS.
Power was restored within a few minutes, and the frame collapsed around 7.15 pm.
“Engineering student Sona died in the incident, while her twin sister, who was also with her, escaped with injuries,” police said. Their father, Ashok , said his younger daughter, who is undergoing treatment, is unaware of her sister’s death. “It was my daughter’s friend who called me and told me about the accident and that my daughters had been taken to hospital. We want police to arrest the responsible persons,” said Ashok, a goldsmith by profession.
Police suspect that inadequate support at the base of the metal frame may have caused it to collapse. The metal frame, which was used to support the lighting, suddenly collapsed on students participating in the celebrations. Investigators spoke to eyewitnesses and examined available video footage. Several students were seen witnessing the frame begin to fall. The college management did not inform us, and for a long time, they did not even approach us. Various student organisations staged protests, demanding action against the college management. As part of the investigation, police are expected to examine the safety precautions taken by the event organisers while erecting the structure and establish who supervised the work.
There was a power outage shortly before the accident. The incident took place on Saturday during a dandiya festival organised by students on the college campus.
“The huge metal frame fell suddenly due to the breeze, and officials found that no one had tampered with it. As a result, it started to shake and fell due to the breeze.
The investigation is still going on,” Adibatla inspector S Ramesh told TOI. It appears that the footing of the frame was not arranged properly to keep it firm.