The deceased, identified as Lokeshwari, died after falling from the third floor of her college building on Thursday, July 12. Coimbatore Rural Police then arrested a trainer of the National Disaster Management training in connection with the death of second-year BBA student at Kovai Kalaimagal College of Arts and Science.
The CCTV footage of the incident showed that the girl, who was sitting on a higher floor, was pushed by a man, after which she hit the sunshade on the first floor and sustained fatal injuries. The deceased student was immediately rushed to AMP Hospital, Thondamuthur for first aid and later referred to CMCH, Coimbatore. However, she was declared dead upon arrival.
According to the FIR lodged, “…inside the college campus as a part of Disaster Management class about 20 students were given training to jump down through an emergency exit window from the 2nd-floor classroom. (It is a College main building consists of 3 floors) For safety measures, they have tied a net below to avoid any unexpected incidents. At that time the above student (deceased) was jumping down. Unfortunately, deceased girl dashed in the 1st-floor Sunshade and sustained injuries on the backside head and right neck.”
At the time of the incident, Lokeshwari was participating in the training program organised in college on how to survive a natural disaster.
A case has been registered against the accused under the relevant Sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Logeswari’s parents blamed the college management for not properly monitoring the drill and held it responsible for the tragedy.
Talking to reporters, her father Nalla Gounder, a farmer from Nathegounden Pudur, said his daughter was pushed down by the trainer, despite her reluctance to jump. He alleged that Arumugam did not have a proper trainer certificate. Logeswari’s mother Sivakami blamed the college and held it solely responsible for the tragedy. Students also claimed Logeswari was unwilling to jump and was pushed by the trainer.
Ashok, who helped R Arumugam get a fake certificate of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), was picked up for questioning, police said. Meanwhile, Regional Joint Director, Collegiate Education, S Kala on Saturday submitted a report to District Collector T N Hariharan on the incident, official sources said. The report would be forwarded to the chief secretary, as Chief Minister K Palaniswami has sought a detailed inquiry into the incident from the education and police departments.
They said preliminary inquiry revealed that Arumugam, a native of Tirunelveli, has trained over 1,200 students of various colleges in the last six years and collected Rs 50 from each of them.
The Bharathiar University has also sought an explanation from the Kovai Kalaimagal College of Arts and Science, which comes under its purview, sources said.The NDMA has asserted that it was not associated with the drill at the college and Arumugam was not authorised by it.
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