Rusted pole falls on bike, leaves schoolgirl dead

A rusted, defunct electricity pole crashed on a moving two-wheeler near Hope Farm in eastern Bengaluru on Sunday, leaving a 14-year-old schoolgirl grievously injured. She succumbed to her injuries on Monday.

Yuvarani, a class 7 student, was riding pillion on her father Harish’s two-wheeler when the pole, located at Dinnur Cross, got dislodged from its concrete base and fell on the motorcycle. She got crushed between the pole, the two-wheeler and the road, sustaining grievous injuries. Harish and passersby rushed her to a private hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries on Monday evening.

“It was a rusted pole and had fallen into disuse. It fell on Harish’s bike just when they were passing by,” a senior police officer said. There are many such poles on this stretch, another officer said.

The jurisdictional Kadugodi police have booked unnamed BBMP officials for causing death due to negligence.

The father and the daughter were returning home in Varthur village after attending a housewarming ceremony in Shivanapura, Hoskote, when the accident occurred.