What started off as a joyful merry-go-round amusement ride on Marina beach turned fatal for an eight-year-old in Chennai after he fell from the carousel and sustained head injuries. The victim, Pranav, died on Monday evening after his clothes got caught in the carousel during the ride.
According to reports, Pranav was the son of two panipuri sellers on the beach. He was reportedly drawn to the carousel and kept getting closer to it. Fearing his safety, his mother warned him to stay away, The operator of the carousel, Prakash, however, placed the young boy at the centre of the machine to reportedly keep him out of harm’s way. This was after he heard the child’s mother voice her concerns.
A police officer told TNIE that Pranav wanted a ride on the merry-go-round and his father, who allowed him to do so, was watching him. Prakash, who was in charge of the game stall, had allegedly made Pranav stand on the rods on the carousel, and not on the seat. As the merry-go-round began spinning, Pranav reportedly fell and sustained severe injuries on his head.
A few auto rickshaw drivers, who witnessed the incident, helped the father, Padmanabhan, rush the child to a hospital but he was declared dead. According to The Times of India, the merry-go-rounds on the Marina beach are operated without the necessary permissions and the Greater Chennai Corporation has not taken action against the operators.
A case has been registered following the incident, and Prakash has been detained for inquiry.
This incident comes close on the heels of another case in Krishnagiri district, where an 11-year-old girl died after she got entangled in a saree while playing at a relative’s house in Ayanavaram. On Friday afternoon, Aswathi was playing alone after bolting the door from inside. She accidentally got entangled in a saree that was used as a cradle in the house. The door was later broken down, and she was rushed to a hospital but doctors pronounced her dead.
Source: The News Minute