Woman among three killed in wall collapse

The deceased were identified as Alamelu (50), Ramesh (22) and Lakshmanan (35) all residents of villages near the town. Two others who were injured in the incident have been admitted to the Tiruvannamalai government hospital. 

According to police, Srinivasan, a doctor who is a resident in the town, owned a land near an old building owned by the Pillur Mutt. As Srinivasan planned a new construction, he engaged workers through a contractor, Manikandan, to dig trench in his land to start the construction work.  

When the five workers were engaged in digging near the Mutt wall, it suddenly collapsed on them, trapping them under the rubble. By the time local public and the Fire and Rescue Service personnel managed to remove the debris, Alamelu, Ramesh and Lakshmanan had died, while the other two sustained injuries. 

Tiruvannamalai police have registered a case against land owner Srinivasan and contractor Manikandan, who are absconding. An ancient town, Tiruvannamalai has several choultries and buildings run by many religious organisations. These were meant to provide shelter to the large number of devotees from outside visiting this temple town on pilgrimage.