Girl, sole bread winner, dies in building crash

12-year-old looked after sick mother, working after school

So dire was the family’s poverty that Shaila, along with her few neighbours from the surrounding areas used to frequent the Aiyappa temple in Seva Nagar Main Road, Banaswadi, and the prasadam she got at the temple fed her family.

Around 5:30 pm on Tuesday, Shaila and her neighbour Vignesh (11) landed well before the arti time and after eating the Prasadam, they barged into the adjoining under-construction commercial complex to drink water and wash hands. While Shaila was engrossed in taking water from the water drum, Vignesh was busy playing with pebbles at a distance.

Suddenly the prop supporting the parapet on the first floor came down crashing, injuring Shaila and Vignesh.

A few autorickshaw drivers and other passersby rushed to the rescue and cleared the debris. The injured children were rushed to a nearby hospital. Shaila was declared brought dead while Vijesh survived.

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Shaila, who was known to everybody as Ammu was a resident of Ramaswamypalya and was Class 8 student at RBANMS School. Her mother Marie is bed-ridden, immobilised by a brain disorder.

Shaila's father Sagairaj had deserted his wife and three children. A missionary came to their rescue and adopted Shaila's elder brother Andrews and sister Lidya. Both are pursuing their education at Divya Shanti School.

Shaila was forced to stay back and take care of her ailing mother. After school hours, she used to work as domestic help in the same area and from her earnings she would help her mother and give some pocket money to her brother and sister.

The irony is that the mother was not aware of the tragedy and umpteen locals in the area shed tears and chipped in for the final rites of Shaila.

Police have arrested Vinay Anand, the owner of the building and Venkatesh, the contractor, and booked a case of negligence against them.

Police are perplexed as to how the support for the parapet collapsed as civil works at the three-storeyed building had ceased. A north Indian security guard who is employed at the site has gone missing.