Choolaimedu womans death in open stormwater pit sparks GCCpolice blame game

CHENNAI: A woman was found dead in a silt catchment pit of a stormwater drain with no proper lid at Veerapadi Nagar in Choolaimedu on Tuesday morning. The deceased has been identified as J Deepa, a resident of Kodambakkam. She was staying with her 20-year-old daughter after her husband abandoned her a few years ago. The death has triggered a war of words between the officials of Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and the police department. Though GCC acknowledged that the pit was not covered properly, the officials contended that falling into the pit wont cause death, as it is shallow. A corporation official told TNIE that the opening of silt catchment pit measures 1.5 feet in length and has a width of 1.5 feet and the pit has a depth of only 2 to maximum 2.5 feet. It is nearly impossible for someone to fall to death in such a pit. The body was found curled up inside the pit. What exactly happened could be known only after the police investigation, he said. Meanwhile, ruling out any foul play, the city police maintained that Deepa died after falling into the pit, as the wooden plank that was used to cover the pit was damp due to the rain. It could have caved in after the woman stepped on it, they said. A senior police officer told TNIE, We are 100% sure that there is no murder angle to the death. On the other hand, there is enough evidence to prove that it was accidental, adding preliminary findings of the postmortem, with injuries on the head and face, also did not suggest murder. Deepas body was handed over to her family on Tuesday. A case has been registered under section 194 of the BNSS (law that deals with suicide or any death raising suspicion of an offense) to ascertain the cause of the death. Meanwhile, BJP leader K Annamalai condemned GCC for the death. Recalling the recent electrocution of a sanitation worker after she came into contact with an exposed underground electric cable in stagnant rainwater, he blamed ministers and the mayor for blurting out varying numbers on the completion of the storm water drain work with no clarity. He accused the government of diverting attention whenever lives were lost instead of addressing safety lapses. Womans death in Choolaimedu exposes peril of broken stormwater drain lids across Chennai