CMRL accident: The husband and father who never got to reach home

Tragic death of Ramesh under construction girders on Metro Rail flyover in Chennai, sparking police investigation.

Thousands of motorists ride past Manapakkam and Porur towards Poonamallee below the Metro Rail elevated corridor, the construction of which has been ongoing for years. Sadly, Ramesh, 43, was caught under the girders and died when they fell from the under-construction flyover, after he stopped briefly on the roadside while returning home from work on Thursday night.

According to police, Ramesh, a native of Kaliyakavilai in Nagercoil district, was caught under one of the I-girders that fell from the flyover under construction at Manapakkam. In the city, he lived with his wife Rekha and their 10-year-old daughter at Janaki Nagar, Kattupakkam. He worked at a private firm dealing with billing machines in Choolaimedu.

A family friend said, “At around 9 p.m., he called his wife and told her that he was in Velachery and riding back home. He also said he would arrive in an hour or so after finishing his work. After a few hours, she became anxious and called one of his friends to check on him.”

The friend searched for him along the usual route on Mount-Poonamallee Road late at night but was trapped in traffic congestion caused by the collapse of girders. Later that night, he managed to reach the accident spot and found his friend trapped under the debris.

The family identified the body after the girders were removed from the site at around 1.30 a.m., police said.

Just before the girders collapsed from the flyover, vehicles continued to cross the stretch. Ramesh was caught under the girders when he stopped briefly on the road, police added. The police recovered the body and sent it to Government General Hospital, Chromepet, for post-mortem. After the post-mortem, the body was handed over to the family and taken to his native place.

Nandambakkam Police registered a case under Section 105 of the BNS against L&T Project in-charge Narendra Krishna Prabhakar, Project Manager Tata Rao, Construction Manager Mallikarjun, and Erection Manager Benim, police sources said.