Mother cradles 20-day-old baby in vain as roof collapse kills 3 of family in Kanpur

The four were in a mud room when its roof, made of bamboo supports and mud, collapsed.

KANPUR: Three members of a family, including a 20-day-old baby, died when the roof of their house collapsed on Diwali morning in Kanpur’s Panki Padaav area. A fourth family member suffered minor injuries. The roof collapsed on Sunday morning, trapping Vinodni Shukla (60), her son Harsh Shukla (32), daughter-in-law Anshika Shukla (28) and grandson Aarav under debris.

Family members and neighbours pulled them out and took them to Kalyanpur CHC, where doctors declared Vinodni, Anshika and Aarav dead. Harsh survived with minor injuries. The four were in a mud room when its roof, made of bamboo supports and mud, collapsed. Anshika was breastfeeding Aarav at the time. Neighbours said she apparently tried to protect the child by holding him tightly beneath her, but both died.

The 35-year-old single-storey ancestral house, comprising four rooms, belongs to Avdhesh Shukla (65). He and his younger son, Raju Shukla (29), were in another room when the accident occurred. Harsh works for a Steel Authority company in Panki and had married Anshika two years ago. Their son was born 20 days before the accident.

After doctors declared the three dead, the family brought their bodies home and initially refused to allow postmortems. Police later persuaded them to consent. DCP West SM Qasim Abidi said, “Information was received about the death of 3 people after the roof of a house collapsed. Prima facie, it appears that the load on the roof increased due to water seepage. For now, the bodies are being sent for postmortem. A revenue team is also present at the spot. Whatever further legal action is required is being carried out.”