Student killed as lighting structure falls during Dandiya night at MVSR college; police book management

A first-year engineering student died and at least 12 other students were injured on Saturday evening, 17 October, when a metal frame holding festival lights fell on a crowd during a Dandiya programme at MVSR college in Nadergul, Rangareddy district, on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

The student who died was in the first year of the Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) course; according to police, she was the only fatality. The Adibatla police have registered a case against the MVSR college management and are looking into how the structure was put up and what safety precautions the organisers had taken.

The Dandiya night was the closing event of Sangamam, a two-day technical and cultural festival run by the EEE department of MVSR Engineering College on 16 and 17 October. Shortly before the programme was due to end, a sudden gust of strong wind struck the venue and a stand fitted with lights toppled onto the area where women students were dancing.

Injured shifted to hospital

Injured students were moved to a nearby private hospital. The college’s director of academics, J Prasanna Kumar, said about nine students had been admitted and were out of danger, and that the management would stand by the family. Police put the number of injured at 12.

Relatives of the student who died have alleged that the arrangements were not adequate for an event of that size. Police have not yet said what caused the frame to fail.

Government and political response

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed shock and offered condolences to the family. He told officials to ensure the injured get the best treatment, to identify those responsible and to take strict action against them.

BRS MLC Dasoju Sravan, in a representation to the Chief Minister, sought compensation of Rs 1 crore and an impartial inquiry headed by a senior IAS or IPS officer. He asked how the authorities had allowed what he described as a commercial programme, alleging that entry tickets had been sold at Rs 350, and urged the government to make the written permissions public and to frame standard rules for cultural events on campuses.

The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) demanded criminal cases against the management and compensation for the families. Its state vice-president, MD Javeed, said private colleges had lately been staging large events, including film promotions and celebrity visits, without the required permissions.

Festival-season safety under scrutiny

The accident comes at the height of the Dasara and Navaratri season, when Dandiya and Garba nights with temporary stages, trusses and lighting rigs are held across Hyderabad, including on college campuses. Beyond the police inquiry into the installation, the opposition’s questions about who cleared the MVSR event are likely to put permissions for such gatherings in focus.

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