Corporators, locals start blame game over death of 13-year-old in Bengaluru park

A day after the tragic death of a 13-year-old girl in a Bengaluru park, the local corporator has blamed the local residents for the incident. The victim, Priya Gowda, succumbed to her injuries on Saturday evening after an iron rod fell over her as she tried to climb an under-construction slide in a BBMP maintained the park in MVJ Layout, East Bengaluru. She was declared brought dead after locals took her to a nearby hospital. According to the police, the watchman was not present at the park when the incident took place. The corporator said that the park was closed for maintenance and was opened on the insistence of a local resident. “The girls (Priya and her friends) entered the park after regular walkers forced the guard to open it even though it had been closed for maintenance,” The Hindu quoted  Vigyananagar councillor SG Nagaraj as saying. However, the residents denied the councillor’s allegation and the police noted that there were no warning signs on the ground stating that the equipment was in the process of being installed. “The park usually remains open on most evenings regardless of the progress of the work. We believe the work had stopped in the past few days because of rain,” a resident whose house overlooks the park told Deccan Herald. Read: Bengaluru girl dies after iron rod falls on her in city park, BBMP booked for negligence The police had registered a case of death due to negligence against a BBMP engineer, the park watchman and the contractor has been called for questioning, the DH report said. “The premise was not secured and equipment were kept open that led to the mishap. Hence, we have taken legal action against the BBMP officials and further investigation is on,” Seemanth Kumar Singh, Additional commissioner of police (East) told The New Indian Express. Meanwhile, the local MLA Byrati Basavaraj announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for Priya’s family, The Hindu report said.