Sekhmet club manager arrested; Technical probe to reveal reasons for roof collapse

CHENNAI: The accident at Sekhmet, the posh club near the proposed Boat Club Metro Station which snuffed the lives of three of its staffers on Thursday after a concrete roof collapse warrants a technical probe as to what triggered the collapse, but it remains to be seen whether the investigation will run its course.

Abiramapuram Police who had registered a case under section 304 A (causing death by negligence) detained 12 persons associated with the club and later in the day arrested the Manager (administration), S Sathish.

While CMRL has officially denied that their operations a few meters away was the trigger for the roof collapse, staff at Sekhmet said that they have experienced vibrations in the building in the recent past and one of the reasons was "Loud music".

In the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Abhiramapuram police, a staff at Sekhmet had stated, "Earlier too during Saturdays and Sundays, whenever there is a party, the building shakes a little due to loud music. We informed the same to the owners, Ashok Kumar and Sathish, but they did not pay any attention on it."

The complainant sought justice for the death of his co-workers, R Cyclone Raj (45), Hausawmilan alias Max (20) and Chindimnieng alias Lally (23) and take necessary action against the club management.

A Police officer said that City police will be seeking expert opinion from the state Public Works Department (PWD) and other departments to assist in the probe and the team will be monitored by an assistant commissioner level officer.

DT Next visited Chamiers road where the club is located and asked dwellers in adjacent buildings if they had experienced any vibrations due to CMRL works and the answers were in negative.

"All the buildings including Sekhmet are fitted with a tiltmeter (used to measure changes in vertical level in structures) which is checked periodically," a CMRL official told DT Next.