Mumbai: Cement bench crushes 7-year-old sports prodigy to death

Shaurya Prasad

A wonky garden bench took away the life of a sports prodigy in Lokhandwala on January 10. The deceased, Shaurya Jolly Prasad, all of seven, was taking a break while playing with his friends when the tragic accident occurred.

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The bereaved family is now urging other parents to take care of their kids by removing cement benches from gardens. Shaurya resided in the Paradise building in Lokhandwala and studied at the Jankidevi Public School. His father Jolly is a senior consultant in TCS while mother Ritu works in a private company. He loved playing sports.

The bench that took away Shaurya's life

On January 10, Shaurya went out to play with friends around 6.30 pm. "The kids were playing chor-police. Meanwhile, Shaurya was thirsty and went home to have water. On his way there, he found a friend's water bottle on a cement bench," said Ritu.

Bench crashes
"When he sat on the left side of the bench, it came crashing down on him, crushing his head. When his friends first saw him, they thought he was playing a prank. Later, they saw his head under bench and sensed something was wrong as he didn't respond to them," said Ritu.

Shaurya's friends called a driver who was in the garden, who in turn informed the security guard. Both the men proceeded to lift the bench, and saw Shaurya lying there with a crushed skull. They proceeded to tell his mother. "At first, I thought he might have suffered some bruises or fallen. I asked them to bring him home but the kids were so scared. I knew something was terribly wrong," said Ritu.

No complaints
She then went to the garden to found Shaurya lying unconscious. They took him to Ashirwad hospital first, but since a doctor was not available, Shaurya was taken to the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital, where he was declared dead after 40 minutes of treatment.

Best in every sport
Speaking about Shaurya's excellence in sports, Jolly said, "He was the best in every sport he played, be it cricket, basketball, volleyball or football. He always liked to be on the ground, but was more interested in cricket. At the age of seven, he was confident about pursuing a career in cricket."

"We don't have any complaints against anyone; it is an accident after all. But, housing societies must avoid putting cement benches in garden. I have lost my son, but I want other people to learn from this and act accordingly," said Jolly. Since Shaurya's death, the housing society has changed their benches. The Oshiwara police have registered Accidental Death Report in the matter.

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