‘I wish I had died too’: Husband recalls Bengaluru metro accident horror

“Everything happened in a fraction of a second. I only saw my wife falling down and the structure hitting her head,” Lohit recalled of the accident

Lohit Kumar V Sulakhe, who lost his wife and son to the metro accident in HBR Layout on Tuesday, said no one should go through his experience.

“I don’t know what to do now... I wish I had died too,” he said.

“The road was relatively free when the structure collapsed. Usually, the stretch is filled with vehicles... had that been the case, I can’t imagine how many would have been affected,” he said.

A bigger tragedy was averted as a BMTC bus passed through the spot just seconds before the reinforcement cage fell.

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The couple was on their way to drop their twins to a preschool. Lohit usually drops wife Tejaswini at her workplace before going to his office in Vijaynagar. She would work for half a day, pick up the children from school and work from home later. On Tuesday, the family left home around 10 am on their two-wheeler. Their daughter Vismita sat in the front while Vihan sat behind Lohit. Tejaswini was at the back.

“Everything happened in a fraction of a second. I only saw my wife falling down and the structure hitting her head,” Lohit recalled.

Lohit is from Gadag while Tejaswini was from Davangere. The couple was married for six years. The family had moved to a new flat on Kane Road, Kalkere, Horamavu, three months ago.

The state government and the BMRCL have announced compensation, but Lohit said no amount of money will help. “I hope they (authorities) take precautions to ensure that such incidents do not recur. No one should experience what we are going through. No amount of money will help,” he said.

In his police complaint, he blamed “unscientific” metro work and poor safety. He demanded that the police take action against the officials responsible.

Bheemashankar S Guled, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East), said forensic experts have collected samples from the scene.

Lohit’s father Vijay Kumar Sulakhe, a retired commissioner of Gadag Urban Development Authority, and mother Nirmala had come to Bengaluru a few days ago to visit the family.

“The negligence of officials and shabby work ruined the happiness of our family,” Vijay lamented.

Nirmala said the children were admitted to the school only 10 days ago. “Tuesday was their sixth day,” she said.

Tejaswini’s colleagues described her as a kind soul. Naveen Kumar M H said they were shocked to hear about the incident. “We used to interact often in the office,” he said.

Traffic jam

Vehicular movement was disrupted on one side of the Outer Ring Road towards Hebbal after the accident.