Hyderabad: Boy dies as cement bench in community park falls on him

Hyderabad: In another death caused due to sheer civic negligence, a 6-year-old boy, Divit Sharma, died after a heavy cement bench fell on him on Thursday evening.

The chilling incident was captured on video. Divit, after an exhausting round of games, sat on a wobbling cement bench in the community park of Janapriya Apartments, Hyder-guda. A few minutes into his break, while Divit was swinging on the detached cement bench, he lost balance and slipped, following which the bench fell on him, causing a severe injury on his head.

A case of suspicious death has been registered at Rajendranagar police station. The residents association, which is in charge of the maintenance of the community park, is blamed for the mishap.

Divit was the son of Bishan Sharma, a software employee, and Pragathi Sharma, a housewife. Shattered  by the incident, Bishan Sharma said, “We have lost our son due to the negligence of the civic authorities in charge of the maintenance of the park’s facilities. No one can bring him back now, but we are hoping that the authorities become conscious of their duties towards the community.”

The residents who witnessed the incident also alleged improper maintenance to have caused the death. One eyewitness said, “We lost Divit to the negligent attitude of the authorities concerned towards the maintenance of the apartment’s facilities. Divit succumbed to his injuries while we waited for the ambulance, which took about 30 minutes to arrive.”

The Rajendra Nagar Inspector of police G. Suresh said, “The bench was not in a good condition. The boy was found swinging on it and then lost his balance, as a result of which he slipped and the bench collapsed on him, causing a severe injury to his head. The duty doctors at the hospital declared that the boy was brought dead. A case of suspicious death has been registered and further investigation is underway.”

The city has not yet recovered from the death of the 6-year-old boy Monish, who died of electrocution in PBEL city’s gated community, again due to civic negligence. In Monish’s case, the Narsingi Police arrested the Managing Director of Goldenstar Facilities and Services Private Limited along with 5 other staff for criminal negligence under section 304 (A) of the IPC.