An AIADMK leader's hoarding fell on Subhasri Ravi following which she was hit by a tanker.
How many more litres of blood do you need, the Madras High Court asked today, adding that it has "lost faith in the government" as it slammed the Tamil Nadu government over illegal hoardings. The strong words from the court comes amid outrage over the death of a 23-year-old software engineer in Chennai on Thursday after a hoarding fell on her, following which she was hit by a water tanker.
The court has asked Chennai Police and the city's civic body officials to appear before it this afternoon. It has also ordered an interim compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of the woman. The money will be collected from the civic body officials.
The court also directed the Chennai Police commissioner to monitor the investigation in the case.
The high court, while hearing a petition, also ordered the AIADMK government to remove party flags illegally put along Chennai's Marina Beach a day after the tragedy.
"There is zero respect for lives in this country. A life is lost due to the irresponsibility of bureaucrats... It is bureaucratic apathy. Sorry, we have lost faith in the government," the court observed. The high court also said it was is tired of passing multiple orders against illegal flex boards.
Display of photographs and portraits of living persons in public places was banned by the Madras High Court in October 2017.
C Jeyagopal, an AIADMK leader, had out up several hoardings on the median for a family wedding.
Subhasri Ravi was riding her two-wheeler on the Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam Radial Road in Chennai on Thursday when an unauthorised life-size hoarding knocked her down. In seconds, a tanker hit her scooter, injuring her on head. Although the woman was rushed to a hospital, she was declared brought dead.
The hoarding, which had pictures of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palanisamy, his deputy O Panneerselvam and former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, were put on the median by a local leader of the ruling AIADMK.
The young woman's death has left many social media users angry. The opposition DMK has slammed the state government and the police. DMK chief MK Stalin told his party workers that he will not participate in any function if banners or hoardings are put up. He also warned of strict action against those who put up such hoardings.
The DMK, AIADMK and few other parties too have appealed to its party workers to stop putting up banners and hoardings.