A 50-year-old security guard died in Kanpur after a heavy iron gate weighing around 400 kg fell on him while he was closing it during night duty. The incident happened in the Panki police station area on Friday night, and a video of the collapse has since surfaced. His family alleges the gate had been faulty for the past 10 days and was not repaired despite repeated complaints.

How the gate collapsed

The guard, Vikram Singh, lived in Shivnagar Duda Colony in Panki and had taken up the security guard job at the flat around three months ago. He was on night shift when a young man living in the flat arrived by car at about 1:30 at night. Vikram opened the gate and let him in.

When he then tried to close the gate, it would not move properly. He pushed it to open it again, and during the push the heavy iron gate fell on him. Trapped underneath, he kept crying out for help for a long time, his family says.

Family alleges delayed information

The family alleges they were informed very late about the accident. They say they learnt only on Saturday morning around 5 am that Vikram had been admitted to hospital, and by the time they reached, he had already died. Police sent the body for post-mortem on Saturday around 11:45 am.

Vikram is survived by his wife Soni Singh, three daughters Pooja, Sangeeta and Ankita, and son Deepak Singh.

Faulty gate complaint, family alleges negligence

His son Deepak says the gate had not been working properly for the past 10 days. Complaints were made to the flat owner several times, he alleges, but no repair was carried out. The family argues the accident could have been avoided if the gate had been fixed in time, and has accused the flat owner of negligence.

Deepak also alleges that his father's mobile phone was stolen during night duty on Thursday, and that the flat owner had assured them a new phone would be arranged soon after they complained.

Police investigation underway

Panki inspector Dinesh Singh Bisht said the body has been sent for post-mortem and police are investigating the matter. He said action will be taken on the family's complaint once it is received.