Thursday saw the death of a 19-year-old Coimbatore student Logeswari, who had hurtled down the second floor of the building in a disaster management safety drill class.
Logeswari hurtled down onto a net that her classmates were holding. But without a harness, her head first hit the parapet wall on the first floor, and then she landed motionless into the net.
G Arumugam, the trainer who pushed Logeswari down, was arrested on Thursday night and charged under section 304 of the Indian Penal Code, for causing death due to negligence.
But who authorized Arumugam to conduct the training at the college, that too clearly without proper safety measures in place?
A note sent by the college inviting the media in Coimbatore to cover the event called Arumugam a trainer officer with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). It added that the event was being organized by the National Service Scheme (NSS).
In his Facebook profile, Arumugam has described himself as a trainer with NDMA. However, the national agency whose primary purpose is to coordinate response to natural or man-made disasters denied their involvement.
In a tweet, the NDMA said that they had not organized the drill at the college.
Unfortunate that this incidence has happened & we have lost a young life.Our heartfelt condolences to the family.However,the National Disaster Management Authority wasn’t involved in this drill.The trainer wasn’t authorized by NDMA to conduct such a drill. https://t.co/WOWcD0Lyl0
— NDMA India (@ndmaindia) July 13, 2018
NDMA member Kamal Kishore told the media that Arumugam is not a trainer appointed by them. “We have certain criteria when it comes such forms of training. We collaborate with the local emergency services. Jumping off the second floor is definitely not part of our training programme,” he said.
But a top police officer from Coimbatore said that G Arumugam has claimed he was a central government employee.
“During our preliminary inquiry, Arumugam has said that he got a diploma in the field of Disaster Management from the National Institute of Disaster Management in New Delhi. He claims to have received his appointment order as a trainer from the Ministry of Home Affairs. He receives his salary from the central Government. He has been conducting awareness campaign and demonstrations in various colleges. We are yet to verify his claims,” said a top cop in Coimbatore district.
“The college had invited him for the training. But he is not a field officer. He seems to be more of an academician who conducts classroom training. But he has gone ahead and made students jump without adequate safety measures. He should not have involved students in the process. “
READ ALSO: Training goes wrong; girl dies in safety drill practice
There are 2 news reports stating G Arumugam as a training officer.
The police are verifying as to whether he was an impersonator or was using fake credentials. They suspect that he may not have been part of NDMA, as a letter written by Arumugam to a college principal in May 2017 mentions a Gmail ID, and while it lists at least three different mobile numbers, there is no landline number listed for the supposed “Training Officer (Tamil Nadu) – whose address is in Safdarjang Enclave, New Delhi.
The letter also has the mobile number for a “district coordinator” of the Disaster Management Authority in Coimbatore.
The NSS too claimed they were unaware of such a fire drill exercise. Regional Director of NSS, Samuel Chelliah told TNM that, usually, NSS units in educational institutions invite officers from Fire and Rescue Department to organize such drills. “NSS volunteers do not conduct drills, they only organize. I have asked for a report from my office in Coimbatore. But as of now, we have no such information that this drill was conducted by NSS,” he said.
When asked who Arumugam was, Samuel said he could be a private trainer, and that a lot of institutions engaged such people.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister E Palaniswami has announced Rs. 5 lakh compensation for Lokeswari’s family. “I’ve told the college education department and the police to take strict action,” he told the media.
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