5-yr-old girl dies after iron rod falls on her at construction site

A five-year-old girl died after an iron rod fell on her head from an under-construction building in East Delhi’s Jagatpuri Extension, the police said on Monday.

The building owner, Nathu Singh (68), a resident of Jagatpuri Extension, along with three labourers employed at the construction site, had been arrested in connection with the case, they said. The incident took place around 11 am on Sunday when the girl was walking through the area while returning from a Durga temple, and an iron rod fell on her, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam said.

“She sustained severe injuries on her head and right eye after the iron rod, part of a terrace platform intended to hold a water tank, dislodged from a four-story building under construction. She was rushed to GTB Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries during treatment,” he added.

On the statement of the child’s father, the police registered a case under sections 290 (Negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings, etc) and 125(a) (endangering human life or personal safety of others) of the BNS.

After the girl’s death, who is the only child of her parents, Section 106 (causing death by negligence) of the BNS has now been added to the case.

A senior police officer said a preliminary inquiry revealed that the platform on which the water tank was to be kept had been improperly secured, leading to the fatal accident.