'Karnataka Chief Minister must resign': Congress demands Basavaraj Bommai's resignation amid Bengaluru Metro pillar collapse incident

Bengaluru Metro rail pillar collapse: An under-construction metro pillar collapsed near Nagavara on the outer ring road in Bengaluru, killing a woman and her toddler son, police said earlier today. The woman`s husband and daughter were hospitalised with injuries.

Congress MLA Sowmya Reddy on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai after an under-construction metro pillar collapsed in Bengaluru`s Navagara claiming two lives. "Karnataka Chief Minister must resign. It`s a clear case of poor work and people have succumbed to it. Now, people of Bengaluru and Karnataka are fed up," Congress MLA Sowmya Reddy said. "It`s very shocking that an under-construction pillar fell on a woman and child. Until now there were pothole deaths now pillars are collapsing. This is a clear case of violation, negligence and corruption of the BJP govt," Reddy added.

An under-construction metro pillar collapsed near Nagavara on the outer ring road in Bengaluru, killing a woman and her toddler son, police said earlier today. The woman`s husband and daughter were hospitalised with injuries. Reacting to the incident, the Chief Minister said that the government would provide compensation to the grieving family. "We will inquire how the incident happened, and provide compensation to the affected family," he said. Earlier today, Anjum Parvez, MD, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 20 lakh has been announced for the kin of victims in the incident.

Speaking to the reporters, Anjum Parvez, MD, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) termed the incident "unfortunate" and announced the ex-gratia. "A pillar fell on the road and a woman and her child were badly injured and died. It is very unfortunate. Will provide 20 Lakh ex-gratia to the kin of the victims," he said. The official assured of a detailed probe into the incident and said that steps will be taken to ensure such incidents do not occur in the future. "We follow the highest quality standards possible when it comes to construction, Detailed probe will be done and will see if it was a technical error or manmade. Steps will be taken to prevent such incidents from happening again," he said.

The four of family members were travelling on a bike when the incident took place. Bheemashankar S Guled, DCP East Bengaluru said, "This morning around 10:45 am, when the couple along with their twin children were travelling towards Hebbal when the metro pillar collapsed on the bike. The mother, Tejaswini and son Vihaan were seriously injured and shifted to Altis Hospital where both of them succumbed to their injuries." Forensic experts are at the incident site and are investigating, the DCP said.