Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Sep 27: The 16-year-old college student who suffered critical injuries and declared brain-dead after a retaining wall collapsed during an event at a convention hall in Emmekere, Pandeshwar, on Saturday afternoon, has succumbed to his injuries.
The deceased has been identified as Moideen Shamaz (16), a commerce student at St Aloysius PU College and a resident of Haleyangadi. He passed away at Highland Hospital at 11:33 pm on Saturday without responding to treatment.
Following a complaint filed by the victim's father, Mohammad Eliyas, the Mangaluru South police have booked the building owner, Parikshith Rai, and the event organiser, advocate Dinakar Shetty.
The tragic incident took place at around 2:50 pm at the Rama Laxmi Narayan Hall, where a large number of students had gathered for the oath-taking ceremony of the All College Student Association. As students were moving in a rally to enter the hall, several others were standing on the first-floor passage. Shammas was standing below the building watching the procession when the retaining wall of the passage suddenly collapsed and fell on his head. He sustained severe injuries to his head, shoulders, and both legs.
Fellow students immediately rushed him in a car to the hospital, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Earlier on Saturday evening, the city police commissioner had stated that the gravely injured student was declared brain-dead.
Other students, including Mohammed Shanan Ahmed, 18, Haneef, 23, Dawood Farsin Ahmed, 18, and Mohammed Shakeel Hussain, 18, also sustained injuries in the mishap.
In his police complaint, Eliyas alleged that the building was in a dilapidated condition. He stated that owner Parikshith Rai permitted the gathering without taking any safety precautions, and organiser Dinakar Shetty exhibited extreme negligence by conducting the event without ensuring the students' safety or warning them about the weak structure.
The police have registered a case under sections 125(a), 125(b), 290, and 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Further investigation is underway.