Attempt to help friend costs worker his life

A labourer died after he was struck by an iron rod while working at a paper box manufacturing unit in Byatarayanapura on Wednesday.

The victim was identified as Uday, 18, a native of Odisha. “Living with a group of 20 youths from Odisha at Raghava Nagar, Uday was employed at Prerana Packaging Industries which manufactures sweet boxes and other paper materials,” police said.
The incident occured when Uday and another employee, Tikan Sukhdev, were working in the factory on Wednesday night.

Sukhdev’s hand got stuck in a cutting machine but he managed to turn off the machine by pressing the power switch with his leg and cried out for help.

Uday rushed to his help and inserted an iron rod into the machine to help Sukhdev take his hand out. The rod provided enough leverage for Sukhdev to free his hand. Uday, however, forgot to remove the rod and switched on the cutting machine. The rod rotated and struck his head.

“The blow was so severe that Uday fell on the ground bleeding heavily,” police explained.
He was rushed to Victoria Hospital, but was later shifted to Nimhans where he succumbed to injuries on Thursday morning. Police have booked a case against the factory owner, Girish Basappa, and launched a search for him.

Another killed

A construction worker died after falling from the fifth floor of a building under construction in Byatarayanapura on Thursday. 

The victim has been identified as Ranganathan (alias Mise), 45, a native of Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu. Ranganathan lost his balance while working on the fifth floor and fell on the roofing sheets of a house on the adjacent site. “Residents of the house rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead,” police said.

According to the police, Ranganathan was employed by Qammar, who is the owner-cum-contractor of the building, located on First Main Road at Hosa Guddadahalli in Manjunathnagar.