Bengaluru: 13-yr-old bleeds to death while inhuman onlookers take videos

Bengaluru: As 13-year-old Priya lay dying with a heavy metal rod on her head, onlookers rushed in, not to help, but to take videos and photos.

The girl’s two friends, who had accompanied her to the BBMP children’s park in MVJ Layout in Mahadevapura on Saturday, kept pleading with the elders around, but none came to help as the eighth standard student slowly bled for 20 minutes.

“How can people be so inhuman? They gathered to see our daughter dying and no one came forward to pull her out and rush her to a hospital,” Priya’s aunt said. After nearly 20 minutes, Saleem and Megharaj, who were passing by, got to know about the incident and rushed Priya on their two-wheeler to a hospital in Kaggadasapura, where she was declared brought dead. Priya was a class eight student of MTB Jnana Jyothi Vidyanikethan in Mahadevapura.

BBMP responsible for Priya's death: Father
While the park was not yet functional and the play equipment was yet to be fixed, the BBMP allowed the public to use the space. No warning signs had been put up, no security guards were posted and none of the gates were locked to stop people from entering the park.

The contractor had only half-assembled the play equipment and had not built the concrete structures. But for children, it looked complete and they were using it.

"How can they (BBMP officials) be so negligent? How can they just keep the 150-kg pillar without fixing it into the ground? If not the BBMP, who else is responsible for my daughter's death," Priya's father Babu asked.

She wanted to secure first rank, woke up at 5 am to study
Recalling Priya's obsession for studies and to get the first rank in the examination, her relatives said the 13-year-old, fondly called 'Ammu', woke up at 5 am every day to study. "She was a bright student and secured second or third rank in previous exams. This year, she was determined to secure the first rank and worked hard for it," Priya's uncle said.

On Saturday, Priya went to her friend's house nearby and from there, they went to the park, her uncle said.

"With no caution boards and gates kept open, there was no way we could know that the play equipment had not been fixed. We saw girls already playing on the garden slide, so we joined. We never thought a jolly slide would claim our friend's life," Priya's friend said.

Mayor promises strict action
Mayor G. Padmavathi, who was out of station, said that she will visit the park on Monday and take strict action against the contractor, if he is at fault. The mayor also said that she will also discuss the compensation to be given to the family of the deceased.

MLA offers condolences
KR Puram MLA Byrathi Basavaraj, who visited the family of the deceased on Sunday, expressed his condolences and said that he will give a relief of '2 lakh from his end.