Man questions demolition near house, crushed to death by wall

CHENNAI: A 43-year-old man, who went to question the demolition of a building near his house without proper precautions and norms, was crushed to death after a portion of the compound wall fell on him in Choolaimedu on Thursday.

The deceased man was identified as Hari Babu, an assistant general manager at an automobile manufacturing firm. On Thursday, around 5.30 pm, after returning from work, Hari Babu went to question the demolition works of an old building at Sidco 1st street near his house.

According to a complaint by Hari Babu’s wife, Indumathi, an earth mover was used to demolish the structure, which led to vibrations in their house. The workers also did not raise any sheets around the structure, because of which there is a lot of dust in the neighbourhood for days.

When Hari Babu went to complain to the earth mover operator, he did not pay any heeds and continued the demolition. When Hari Babu was walking back, a portion of the compound wall fell on the man.

His legs were caught under the debris and hearing his screams, neighbours rushed to the scene and rescued the man. He was moved to a private hospital in Nungambakkam, where he was declared brought dead.

Choolaimedu police moved his body to the government hospital for autopsy. Based on a complaint from his wife, Choolaimedu police have registered a case under Sections 287 IPC (negligent conduct with machinery), 304 (A) IPC (causing death by negligence) and are questioning the earth mover operator Magizhan.