Chennai: Techie Crushed By Truck After AIADMK Leader's 'Welcome' Hoarding Falls On Her

Subhasri Ravi wanted to pursue higher education in Canada. On Thursday, she finished exam for her dream course. After speaking to her mother, she was riding way back home, when she was crushed to death by a speeding truck. She was just 23. The Chrompet resident’s untimely death in the accident has sparked a huge uproar in Tamil Nadu against ruling AIADMK. Because, while riding her two-wheeler, the young techie lost her balance after a huge, life-size hoarding of an AIADMK leader fell on her. Minutes later, before she could regain her balance, she was hit by speeding truck. Onlookers rushed Subhasri to a nearby hospital. At 2:30 pm, doctors declared her dead.

"One hoarding was already coming loose and I went and tied it. The banner fell on her and she slipped. Though the lorry tried to swerve and stop, the driver could not. Most of the banners were loose and crooked," and eyewitness was quoted as saying by The News Minute

Though the police have arrested the truck driver, so far, no action has been taken against the AIADMK leader. The leader in question is C Jeyagopal. The councillor and Kancheepuram East MGR Mandram Assistant Secretary had put up the huge hoardings on the Thuraipakkam-Pallavaram radial road to announce a family wedding. “Government’s negligence, the lack of responsibility by officials, the inefficiency of police have caused the death of Subasri,” DMK chief MK Stalin said in a tweet.

The Thursday’s incident is a stark reminder of the 2017 accident. In 2017, Ragupathy Kandasamy, a 30-year-old IT professional, died in a similar manner in Coimbatore after his motorcycle rammed into a temporary wooden hoarding set up on the road by the AIADMK cadres for MGR centenary celebrations. 

In the same year, the Madras High Court passed an order banning hoarding of living persons, political parties alongside roads and pavement obstructing traffic and causing inconvenience to the pedestrians. Social activist ‘Traffic’ Ramasamy has sought action against those responsible for Subhasri’s death.  In his complaint, Ramasamy has urged the police to register a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code against the officials concerned.    

HIGHLIGHTS

• Techie's death is a stark reminder of the 2017 accident.
• In 2017, an IT professional was also killed in similar incident.
• In same year, the Madras High Court passed an order banning hoardings.