The ombudsman will conduct a thorough investigation into the factors that led to drowning of an Infosys techie at the KR Circle underpass.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with the family members of the deceased
The Lokayukta has registered a suo motu case in connection with the death of 22-year-old Infosys IT employee Bhanurekha.
She lost her life on 21 May after the car she was travelling in sank in neck-deep water that was stagnated at the KR Circle underpass due to rain.
The Lokayukta has directed its police wing to conduct a comprehensive investigation threadbare into factors that contributed and led to the accident which snuffed away the innocent woman’s life, and submit a detailed report so that the errant officials could be held accountable for the accident.
Lokayukta Justice BS Patil ordered a suo-motu case to be taken up under the Karnataka Lokayukta Act based on news reports about the incident.
The ombudsman also issued notices to the concerned Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials, to which they have to respond within 5 June.
The municipal officials who have been named as respondents are the BBMP chief commissioner; the North Zone joint commissioner; the Shivajinagar division executive engineer; the Sampangi Ramanagara Ward assistant executive engineer and assistant engineer; and BBMP Storm Water Drain (SWD) Department executive engineer, assistant executive engineer, and assistant engineer.
According to the sources from Lokayukta, it was apparent from the case of the woman’s death that the BBMP officials attached to the Storm Water Drain Department committed dereliction of duty.
Thus, the Lokayukta’s Inspector General of Police (IGP) had been directed to investigate the factors that led to the incident and submit a report before the next hearing at the Lokayukta, which has been scheduled for 15 June, sources told South First.
The deceased, Bhanurekha, was one of seven people, including the driver, travelling in a car that sank at the underpass.
The Fire and Emergency Services personnel, along with members of the general public, rescued the family from the car.
Unfortunately, Bhanurekha was declared dead on arrival at St Martha’s Hospital.
Following the incident, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah rushed to the hospital and took stock of the situation.
He subsequently announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and free treatment for those admitted to the hospital.
It was also reported that doctors refused to treat Bhanurekha for about 30 minutes after she was rescued and that she was alive when she was taken to the hospital.
Siddaramaiah, on coming to know of this, said he would ensure an investigation and initiate action if there is a case of medical negligence. The Lokayukta investigation will also look into this aspect of the case as well.
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