B'luru Police file FIR over missing gold ornaments from stampede victim's body

Bengaluru, July 24 (IANS) Bengaluru Police have registered an FIR regarding missing gold ear rings and chain from the body of a 13-year-old girl at the mortuary, an official said on Thursday.

The case was filed following a complaint by Ashwini Shivakumar, the mother of the deceased Divyanshi, who died in the June 4 stampede near Chinnaswamy Stadium during the celebration of RCB’s first-ever IPL Championship victory.

The FIR has been booked under Section 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against an unidentified 25-year-old male from Shivajinagar.

According to the complaint, Divyanshi died in the stampede incident on June 4. When her body was taken to the mortuary at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, she was wearing a pair of gold ear rings weighing 6 grams and a gold chain weighing between 5 to 6 grams, with a combined estimated value of Rs 1 lakh.

However, the jewelry was found missing during the postmortem. When the body was handed over to the family, the ornaments were not returned. At that time, the mother did not immediately notice the missing items, the FIR states.

“The gold ornaments were stolen at the mortuary. The complainant mother has a deep emotional attachment to her daughter’s earrings and chain, and she has requested that the accused be identified and appropriate legal action be taken,” the FIR adds.

The Commercial Street police have registered the case and launched an investigation.

Eleven people were killed and more than 50 people were injured in the stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) victory celebrations on June 4.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had announced the suspension of five senior police officers, including Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda and DCP (Central) Ramesh Banoth, citing serious lapses in crowd management.

“This is one of the most unfortunate incidents I’ve seen in public life,” Siddaramaiah said at a press briefing. “We are deeply saddened, and strict action will be taken against all responsible.”

The BJP has said that the deaths were government-sponsored murders and demanded the immediate resignation of Home Minister G. Parameshwara.

Taking cognizance of the stampede incident, the Karnataka High Court has registered a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and sought a report from the Congress-led Karnataka government.

--IANS

mka/pgh