The Chennai Municipal Corporation on Tuesday dismissed allegations that the death of a 56-year-old man near Liberty bridge in Kodambakkam, was due to him falling into a pothole. Corporation Commissioner G Prakash noted that Narasimhan's death was due to a suspected heart attack and released CCTV footage to prove the same.
Narasimhan and his friend were on a morning walk near the bridge and close to 7.30 am when they were near Pratap hotel, he allegedly stepped on stagnant rain water and temporarily lost balance, before falling to the ground. Passersby then rushed him to a hospital nearby but he was declared dead on arrival. The deceased man worked as a driver in a star hotel in the city.
Following his death, Corporation Commissioner G Prakash said, "The incident of the death today of one Mr Narasimhan, 56, wasn’t due to a storm water drain or sewage manhole. The post-mortem will be done at KMCH and the doctors will ascertain the reason for death( suspected massive heart attack)."
CCTV footage shows Narasimhan struggling to walk over the puddle and stumbling a bit before eventually falling to the ground.
Speaking to The News Minute, the Nungambakkam assistant commissioner, Muthuvelpandi said that the investigation so far revealed that Narasimhan died due to a heart attack and not because of the manhole.
"He didn't touch the pothole or enter it in any manner. If you watch the CCTV footage he falls over after crossing the puddle. There was no electrical shock either that caused this, " he explained. But the officer did add that the stress of crossing the puddle could have led to stress for the victim.
Eyewitnesses who were at the spot told Puthiya Thalaimurai that the pothole had existed for over six months and was responsible for several accidents in the spot.
"We have told authorities multiple times to fix this pothole but it wasn't done. We helped the man sit up this morning but we only came to know later that he had passed away. This is not an accident, it is a murder," said Arun to the Tamil channel.
Following the accident, the corporation immediately filled the pothole and smoothened the road there.