VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Jan. 19: Former navy-man Raj Kumar has alleged the Ranchi police for not arresting real estate developer and owner of Nucleus Mall, Vishnu Agrawal who is allegedly responsible for the death of his 11-year-old son Parthiv Shah.
Vishnu Agrawal is originally a native of Jhalda in West Bengal who made a phenomenal rise in business in Jharkhand in the last one and half decades. Quite powerful and said to be politically well connected, Vishnu Agrawal is under scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Indian Army land scam.
Notably a Class VI student of Bridgeford School, Parthiv was the only child of Raj Kumar and Ranchi anti-human trafficking unit sub-inspector Durga Gupta.
In a letter written to the officer in-charge of Lalpur police station on January 19, Raj Kumar bemoaned four years after the accident the police neither filed the chargesheet against accused persons nor arrested them. The bereaved father has stated that Ranchi (City) SP Anshuman Kumar in his supervision report No. 3208, dated 25 April, 2022, had found Vishnu Agrawal responsible for the accidental death of his son and ordered his arrest. Raj Kumar said that despite a categorical order of the SP, Ranchi police is not arresting him. He further said that even the Jharkhand High Court last year had directed Ranchi police to file the chargesheet within two months but no action was taken.
Parthiv Shah died fell from escalator at Nucleus Mall
On the evening of June 22, 2019, Parthiv Shah fell from the escalator at Nucleus Mall on Circular Road under Lalpur police station in Ranchi where he had gone to visit along with his relatives, including his paternal aunt Lakshmi and her husband Rajesh. Rushed to hospital, he was declared dead on arrival.
An FIR was registered at the Lalpur police station under sections 287/ 304(A), and 34 of the IPC.
The 1.44-minute Closed-circuit television camera footage of Nucleus Mall captured his tragic fall leading to his death. The boy had apparently climbed and chested down, on the moving handrail of the escalator on the first floor to reach the ground floor. He crashed headlong to the ground floor, 30 feet below. Nucleus Mall is the G+5 building with over 100 shops and it came up in 2017.
Investigation revealed glaring security lapses at mall
Anshuman Kumar in his report said that Vishnu Agrawal and other accused are responsible for the death of the boy, hence, they should be arrested and prosecuted.
Anshuman Kumar who is currently posted in Intelligence Bureau said that the passenger fall protection, barrier and safety nets were missing at the mall which are necessary to prevent such accidents. There were no warning signs to caution visitors, not even handrail running signage. Except for the first aid box the mall management did not make any provision of ambulance and doctors to meet any emergency medical situation.
The investigation revealed that escalator installed at the mall was not registered which is a violation of Jharkhand Lift and Escalator Regulations 2017. Also, the mall management did not get third party insurance which is again a violation of section 13 of the regulation. After the accident, the Raghubar Das government ordered the energy department to set up an inquiry of the escalators at the mall. The inquiry committee found that lift and escalator at the mall did not comply with Lift and Escalator Regulations 2017 on several counts and imposed a fine of Rs 50000.
“It is worth mentioning that no security equipment was installed in Nucleus Mall, due to which this type of incident happened. Due to the negligence of the owner and manager of Nucleus Mall, Parthiv Shah died. Had full security equipment been installed by the owner and manager, then this type of incident would not have happened, for which the owner and manager of the mall seems to be clearly responsible,” the supervision report reads.
The then Ranchi (City) SP Anshuman Kumar stated in the report that the investigation was concerned that the allegations against accused Nucleus Mall owner Vishnu Aggarwal and the manager under sections 287, 304 (A) of the IPC are found to be true.
“The investigating officer is directed to verify the name and address of the FIR accused Nucleus Mall owner Vishnu Aggarwal and the manager and start arresting/attachment against them and follow instructions given in the supervisory note,” the report reads.
