Baby falls into metro station gap; dies at hospital

Eighteen-month-old baby girl, Hasini, who slipped and fell through a gap from an escalator at Srirampura metro station on Sunday night, succumbed to her injuries at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health on Monday morning.

Hasini's grandfather, Balakrishna (52), was holding her while stepping on to the escalator. As Balakrishna somehow lost balance, Hasini slipped from his hands and fell on the road right below through the gap beside the escalator.

Balakrishna was going to Basavanagudi along with his wife Kumari, granddaughter Hasini and Hasini's mother Vani.

After the baby was declared dead at the hospital on Monday morning, Balakrishna filed a complaint against the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) for 'negligence which led to the death of the infant'.

Following the complaint, the police booked a case against the BMRCL under IPC section 304 A (causing death by negligence). Investigation is on to find out what exactly led to the mishap.

The CCTV camera footage shows Balakrishna carrying Hasini. While climbing on the escalator, as he loses balance, the baby slips from his hands. She falls through the gap to the ground 35 feet beneath the escalator.

Later, police questioned metro officials and recorded statements on the sequence of events. They are looking into the CCTV footage of the incident as well.

Preliminary investigation revealed there was a two-foot gap next to the escalator. There was no safety measure as the gap beside the escalator was not sealed. Whatever falls through the gap goes straight to the road beneath.

Covering the gap with a net or so could have saved the child, said a police official at the Subramanya Nagar station.

Hasini was the second child of Jayachandra, who works as an assistant at a private firm. Her mother Vani is a homemaker. The family lives in Subramanya Nagar.  Grandfather Balakrishna, who works at a mechanic shop in Basavanagudi, visited the house with his wife Kumari, and was taking Vani and Hasini to his house in Basavanagudi on Sunday night.

Reacting to the tragic death of baby Hasini the Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said: “I have directed the BMRCL officials to take precaution against such accidents, and parents have to take care of their kids while traveling on the metro as well.”

"There was no safety measures at the Srirampura metro station. They have left the gap beside the escalator, and if we look through the gap, we can see vehicles on the road below. This is very dangerous even for elders. My daughter died due to negligence of BMRCL. This should not happen to anybody," Hasini's grieving mother Vani said.

After the incident, now the BMRCL has come forward to seal the two feet gap. "Not only in Srirampura, but all such gaps in the other stations will be sealed. It has been decided to put nets for the time being until we work out a permanent solution," said the BMRCL public relation officer.