A day after accident, BBMP chief meets family; police file complaint

BENGALURU: BBMP chief

BH Anil Kumar

on Thursday personally apologised to the family that suffered an accident on a rubbly portion of

Gunjur Road

on Wednesday, even as Whitefield traffic police registered a complaint against civic officials and contractors.


The police action, taken suo motu, does not specifically name anyone at this juncture and appears to broadly seek an inquiry against the civic body over the mishap, which left a 33-year-old woman and her two children, aged 3 and 9, injured.

Kumar checked on the children’s condition at Columbia Asia Hospital, Whitefield, wishing them speedy recovery. He admitted BBMP’s negligence in the matter — the stretch where the accident occurred was not fully relaid after being cut by water and sewerage board BWSSB for installation of pipes — and later inspected the scene with a team of engineers.

“I apologise for the accident; it was due to our negligence. It should not have happened,” he told the mother.

The woman was taking her three-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son home from school on Wednesday afternoon when their scooter skidded on the rough patch, toppling them. Initial reports suggested the scooter hit a pothole, but the woman and Kumar clarified that had not been the case.

“I was heading home after picking up my children from school. As soon as I turned at Gunjur bus stop, my scooter skidded on gravel laid on the street. My first reaction was to rush my children to hospital. Some locals helped us,” the mother told the commissioner.

The family, which has requested that the mother and children not be identified, does not plan to register a complaint against the civic agency.

The woman, who rode the scooter wearing a helmet, is distraught that her children bore the brunt of the mishap. Pictures of the children’s injuries triggered a furious public reaction on social media, forcing officials to dispatch teams to the scene and promise action against those responsible for relaying only a part of the road.

Kumar said BWSSB had cut over 3,000 sq km of roads in different pockets of Bengaluru to install lines for sewage and drinking water “I have directed engineers to follow due process while fixing these road cuts. The surface should be relaid properly; it should be uniform so vehicle users, especially two-wheeler drivers, don’t face problems,” Kumar said.

Whitefield traffic police said they spoke to the family on Thursday, but the latter didn’t want to pursue legal or criminal action. “The family is quite stressed. We have taken up the matter suo motu,” an officer said.

Case filed under IPC
Sources in the police department that the city force’s chief, Bhaskar Rao, directed traffic police to lodge a complaint after seeing the photos of the injured children on Twitter.

Accordingly, a case has been registered under sections 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the

Indian Penal Code

. Traffic police said they had not yet identified any accused but might add names to the complaint after speaking

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