A security guard at the Indian Institution of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, was killed after a newly installed iron gate at the entrance of the premises of the institution collapsed on him on Sunday afternoon. Gowtham Biswal, who hails from Odisha, died on the spot while two others - Anil Kumar (37) from Bihar and Vinayak (40) from Odisha - were injured in the incident.
According to the police, 26-year-old Gowtham began working as a security guard at the IISc three years ago. He started his shift at 6 am on Sunday, but around 1 pm, when Gowtham opened the gate to the main entrance of the IISc building for a car to enter, the sliding gate derailed and crashed on him. Two other guards, who rushed to help Gowtham, were also injured after they failed to lift and hold the gate, reported Deccan Chronicle.
Gowtham sustained severe injuries on his forehead and died on the spot while the others were rushed to a nearby hospital. The sliding gate weighed around 500 kg and was 6 feet high and 14 feet long. It was installed recently at the entrance of the IISc premises.
Another guard, an eyewitness to the tragedy, told the New Indian Express, on condition of anonymity: “This gate operates on a bearing to gather support. There are two gates that should not be opened completely, as they fall due to lack of support. These were in the process of being replaced when someone slid them beyond the safe point. Since it was a Sunday, there were only security guards, else the number of casualties could have been higher, with students or faculty members getting injured or killed.”
The police officials at Sadashivanagar police station are investigating the incident and have taken up a case of causing death due to negligence against the engineer who made the gate. “The matter is under investigation. We are ascertaining what led to the tragedy and who was at fault for it," a police official told the Times of India.
The Indian Institute of Science is located on CV Raman Road in Bengaluru and was established as a public institute for research and higher education science, engineering and design.