woman allegedly killed by falling plaster in metro station

A young woman was reportedly killed after being hit by a piece of plaster that fell off the wall of a metro station in Hyderabad.

K Mounika, 26, was struck by the plaster that fell from a height of 9 meters from the second floor of Ameerpet metro station when she was taking shelter from the rains on Sunday evening. Her sister was also with her. Mounika died on the way to hospital.

The woman, a resident of Kukatpally, had come to the Ameerpet area to look for a hostel for her younger sister. The two sisters had arrived by the metro and after coming out of the station were standing under the bridge when the accident occurred.

Mounika, originally from Mancherial, had moved to the city earlier this year after getting married to Srikant Reddy, an employee of Tata Consultancy Service.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Thirupatanna said that the police have booked a case of suspicious death under section 174 and are investigating the case.

Mounika’s death evoked a public outcry with many raising concerns about the safety of the elevated metro lines and the stations. The metro lines along three corridors in Hyderabad pass over roads that often have heavy traffic.

Senior Congress leader and former MLA M Shashidhar Reddy demanded that a thorough probe should be conducted to establish the responsibility for the incident and action be taken against the guilty.

“The incident has created doubts about the stability of the pillars of the metro rail line. The minister for urban development K Taraka Rama Rao should come before the people with the full details of the incident,” he told a press conference in Hyderabad.

He also demanded that murder case should be booked against the authorities of Hyderabad Metro and Rs5 million (Dh257,784) compensation should be paid to the family of the victim.

Meanwhile, L&T Hyderabad Metro Ltd officials met Mounika’s family members and talked about the compensation. While the family was insisting on a compensation of Rs5 million, the company officials said that only the insurance amount will be paid to the family.