HYDERABAD: An additional superintendent of police-rank officer fell into a lift shaft and died at an apartment complex in Sircilla town on Monday night. The officer, 59-year-old Thota Gangaram, was commandant of the 17th Police Battalion at Sardapur in Rajanna Sircilla district. He had also served as the chief security officer at the secretariat earlier.
Incidentally, it is the second lift accident in the state in less than a month. A six-year-old boy got trapped between the elevator and the wall at an apartment complex in Masab Tank and succumbed later while undergoing treatment in Feb.
On Monday night, Gangaram went to the flat of his batchmate, Sircilla DSP Chandrasekhar Reddy, near the new bus stand in Sircilla town. He headed to the lift on the third floor after the meeting and opened the grill doors. He stepped forward assuming the lift reached the floor, but fell into the shaft.
Police sources told TOI that the lift was not in working condition and remained stuck on the first floor. Though the grill gates should not have opened, due to a technical glitch, they opened when Gangaram pressed a button. Assuming that the lift arrived, he stepped into it. Due to the impact of falling face down in the shaft, he suffered critical injuries and died.
Fire department personnel, who came to the spot on being informed about the incident, brought out the body of Gangaram from the lift shaft. Gangaram, who hailed from Nizamabad district, is survived by his wife, a son, and two daughters.
Rajanna Sircilla district collector Sandeep Kumar Jha and police officers condoled the death of Gangaram.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS:- A 59-year-old additional superintendent of police, Thota Gangaram, died after falling into a lift shaft at an apartment complex in Sircilla town.
- The lift was not in working condition and remained stuck on the first floor, but due to a technical glitch, its grill doors opened on the third floor.
- Assuming the lift had arrived, Gangaram stepped forward and fell into the shaft, suffering fatal injuries.
- Fire department personnel retrieved his body, and officials, including the district collector, condoled his death.
- This is the second lift-related fatality in Telangana within a month, following the death of a six-year-old boy in February.