7 held over minor’s death in society pool
Seven people have been arrested in connection with the death of a 10-year-old girl in a swimming pool at a posh apartment complex
Bengaluru:
Seven people have been arrested in connection with the death of a 10-year-old girl in a swimming pool at a posh apartment complex in the city, the police said.
The girl, Manya Damerla, was allegedly electrocuted on December 28 last year. The incident caused by a faulty electrical work in the pool area.
A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder was registered under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the seven people at the Varthur police station after Manya’s father Rajesh Kumar Damerla, founder director and CEO of DLK Megamart Private Limited, lodged a complaint following the incident, a police official said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Whitefield) Shivakumar Gunare said, “Our investigation indicates that the maintenance personnel of the apartment complex and the electricity vendors were aware of the faulty electrical work in the pool area.”
He added, “The arrests were made on Friday evening, and the accused have been remanded to judicial custody. Among those arrested are Debashish Sinha, the president of the flat owners’ association, and individuals responsible for swimming pool maintenance, electricity provision, and procurement management services.”
Manya was the only daughter of the Damerla couple who hails from Andhra Pradesh. She was enrolled in an international school near Dommasandra on Varthur Road. Her mother, Vinay Yepuri, serves as the director of DLK Megamart Private Limited, and the family resides in Tower 17 of the apartment complex.
On the evening of December 28, tragedy struck as Manya and her father Rajesh were near the pool area. Rajesh momentarily left Manya to engage with other children from the complex and took a walk.
Shortly afterwards, he received information from a neighbour that Manya had collapsed in the pool. She was rushed to a nearby private hospital where doctors declared Manya dead, police said referring to the complaint.
“The circumstances leading to the incident revealed that Manya had gone down alone to play. CCTV footage from the lift depicted Manya descending from her flat at 7.29 pm. Around 7.45 pm, she was discovered in the pool area. Emergency response efforts led to her transportation to the hospital by 7.55 pm. However, no CCTV coverage was available near the site of the incident,” the police officer said.
