Police officials inspecting the silt catch pit at Choolaimedu in which a woman was found dead.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
A 41-year-old woman died after reportedly falling into a ‘silt catch pit’ connected to a storm-water drain in Choolaimedu in the early hours of Tuesday. People who gathered at the spot alleged that the pit was partially closed by wooden material and demanded immediate action against the officials responsible for this.
The deceased woman has been identified as Deepa, 41, a resident of Vasupuram, Kodambakkam. Police sources said that around 12.10 a.m., she was seen walking along Veerabhadran Koil Street and inadvertently stepped onto the wooden material covering the pit.
She fell into the pit as the wooden material collapsed under her weight. Since it was night, no one noticed her lying in the pit. Her face and head bore injuries.
In the morning, a school boy who went past the area noticed that she was lying in the pit and later police were alerted. Upon receipt of information, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Arumbakkam, D. Ramesh went to the spot and held a preliminary inquiry. The body of the woman was recovered from the pit and sent to a government hospital for post-mortem. Police are investigating to ascertain the cause of her death. A senior police officer said, “Our preliminary investigation revealed that she died because of an accidental fall into the pit. The CCTV footage also showed her falling. We have registered a case and further investigation is on.”
Poor illumination
The residents also complained of poor light in the area at night. Ward 106 Councillor N. Ramalingam, who visited the spot, assured them of action against the officials concerned. GCC officials led by Chennai Central Regional Deputy Commissioner visited the site and received the footage from the police to investigate the cause of the accident.
Probe under way
“The silt catch pit has a dimension of only two feet. We are investigating how the person died in a two feet deep pit with half a feet of water. The pits have been created every five metres in most of the roads to prevent silt from clogging the storm water drains ahead of the northeast monsoon,” said a official from the GCC.
Published – September 03, 2025 12:37 am IST
