Child killed in gate collapse

A nine-year-old boy died on Tuesday morning after the gate of an under-construction marriage hall at Mohan Kumar Nagar in Yeshwanthpur crashed on him.

The victim was identified as Perumal, a class III student at the Bapu Balike Shale on Triveni road. He lived at Pampa Nagar with his mother Shivashakti, a domestic help, and sister Nandini, a class VI student at the same school. Perumal’s father works as an auto driver in Velur, Tamil Nadu, besides looking after a small piece of land owned by the family.   

On Tuesday morning, Perumal and Nandini went to the bus stop to catch a bus to school. The bus stop is located just in front of the marriage hall, Sri Venkateshwara Kalyana Mantapa.

As the duo waited for a bus to Matikhere, Perumal started playing with a ball which strayed into the marriage hall. Perumal followed the ball inside the compound of the hall. As he was coming out, the recently installed gate collapsed on him.

He sustained head injuries and died on the spot.  “He was playing with the ball and went inside the hall to collect it. I told him not to play, but he did not pay attention. Suddenly, I heard a thud and saw him trapped under the gate. By the time somebody pulled him out, he was bleeding,” Nandini told Deccan Herald.

Grieving over Perumal’s death, Shivashakti said: “He was the reason why we moved to the City. My husband lives in the village, while I live here working as a domestic help only to get my son educated. We wanted him to get a good job so that he won’t suffer like us.”