Woman, toddler killed in Bengaluru metro pillar collapse cremated

The woman and her toddler son who were killed in Tuesday's unfortunate metro pillar collapse in Bengaluru were cremated on Wednesday.

A woman and her child, who was two-and-a-half years old, who were killed after an under-construction Metro pillar collapsed on them in Bengaluru were cremated Wednesday, sources told news agency ANI. Tejaswini (25) and her child Vihan were under the pillar that collapsed suddenly on Tuesday. Lohith - Tejaswini's husband - and their second child suffered injuries.

Tejaswini Kumar with her son Vihan, who died in the metro pillar collapse in Bengaluru on Tuesday. (ANI)

The tragic incident occurred in Bengaluru's Nagawara area, where the Namma Metro is being linked to the city's Kempegowda International Airport. A first information report (FIR) has been registered against seven people and the firm responsible, Karnataka home minister Araga Jnanendra said Wednesday.

READ | Bengaluru: Metro pillar collapses; woman, 2.5-yr-old child killed

Of the seven people booked, five are officials from the Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) while two are from the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).

No arrests have been made so far, and these are the persons named in the FIR - from the NCC, junior engineer Prabhakar, director Chaitanya, SPM Mathai, PM Vikas Singh, and supervisor Lakshmipathi. From BMRCL, deputy chief engineer Venkatesh Shetty and executive engineer Mahesh Bendekari.

The BMRCL also suspended three of its officers and ordered an inquiry against them.

A Deccan Herald report has claimed that the chief engineer in charge of civil construction work for the metro line has not been named in the FIR, contrary to the chief minister’s instructions.

Tejaswini and her son's deaths evoked sharp reactions from the public as well as the opposition Congress, after which the BMRCL announced an ex-gratia of ₹20 lakh for their kin, while Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai announced a separate ₹10 lakh.

Several urban experts have said the tragedy was avoidable if only there was proper supervision and blamed the callousness of the authorities.

In this light, Karnataka Congress officials also demanded Bommai's resignation.

(With ANI inputs)