Man crushed under tree on police quarters premises

A 76-year-old person was killed on the spot after a massive tree came crashing down on him on the premises of Adugodi police quarters on Wednesday.

The victim was identified as Puttagangappa M N from Shivagange in Tumakuru district. He was staying with his son Dharanesh, a police inspector attached to State Intelligence Wing, said the police.

Two cars and two bikes were also damaged in the incident. It is the second incident of a tree collapse claiming a life in the locality in recent days. A man was killed on the spot when a huge tree fell on a bus shelter at Anepalya during thunderstorm on May 29.

Wednesday’s incident occurred around 5:15 pm when Puttagangappa was going to a nearby shop. “I was a few metres away from him. He was near the tree. The massive tree suddenly fell. Puttagangappa was buried under the branches before I could rush to his rescue,” Nagaraj S, an eyewitness, told Deccan Herald.

The Adugodi police rushed to the spot and alerted the BBMP and fire force department. A team from the fire department tried its best to remove the body, but gave up the operation as it was buried deep under the branches. They used cutting machines to clear the tree and finally retrieved the body, said the police.

“There are about 1,200 houses constructed over 100 acres of land. There are more than 30,000 trees and some of them are too weak. We had sent a letter to Assistant Conservator of Forest Ranganath about 10 days ago requesting to cut the trees that have become weak. A team led by Ranganath visited the campus, identified the trees and had promised to clear them shortly,” DCP (CAR-South) Kantharaj told Deccan Herald.

They wanted to start the removal of the trees on June 6, but could not do it as labourers started their stir. Ranganath had expressed helplessness and had assured that he would begin the work once the stir ends, he added.