In a tragic incident, 7 people died after a boulder from the hills fell on a residence in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu following heavy rainfall.

The large rock reportedly fell onto the residence of a man identified as Rajkumar, located on 11th Street in VOC Nagar, Tiruvannamalai, around 4 pm on December 1 after heavy rains in the region.

The deceased have been identified as Rajkumar, his wife Meena (27), his son Gowtham (8), daughter Viniya (5), Ramya (7), Vinodhini (16), and Maha (7).

According to officials, the bodies of five have been recovered, while a search operation is underway to recover the other 2.

Meanwhile, experts from Madras IIT have arrived at the site of the landslide in Tiruvannamalai where 7 people died when a huge rock fell on their house, following continuous rainfall because of Cyclone Fengal.

Narasimha Rao, Retired IIT Madras Professor, Geotechnical division of the Civil Engineering Department who arrived to check up on the site of the mishap said, “We will tell the government how far this damage is going to occur. The cracks here are due to sliding. At the same time, I am worried about the huge rocks. If there is loose soil underneath, it can be dangerous.”

Dr S Mohan, Retired IIT Madras Professor, Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Division also spoke to news agency and said, “We will analyse and tell. We are not able to tell very clearly. We will prepare a report and at that time we will inform you. The government has asked us to come and analyse and give the report.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin spoke about the incident and shared details, “In Tiruvannamalai on December 1 around 4 pm due to heavy rainfall a big rock from hills fell on the residence of a man identified as Rajkumar at VOC Nagar, 11th Street. His residence was battered and buried in rock and soil. 7 people have died under debris. NDRF and Commandos were on a rescue mission. Fire and rescue efforts were done. We expected 7 to be rescued alive, but on December 2 evening around 6.30 pm, we started recovering bodies.” Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has announced a relief of rupees 5 lakh to the bereaved families.

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin took stock of the situation on December 2 night and assured all the required assistance.

Locals in the area mourned the loss of lives in the incident.

Unnamalai, a resident from the area recalled the day of the mishap and said, “I was sick so was sleeping at home. Suddenly around 4 pm on December 1, muddy water entered our home and we all heard a massive sound.” “Next thing I was being pulled out by others from my house to rescue me. 7 people however lost their lives. This is painful. We are here for more than 60 years. We are paying EB, Property tax and everything. Where will we go? Our home and things have been completely damaged.”

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday lashed at the ruling party over the Sambhal violence in Uttar Pradesh and alleged that the incident was a “well-thought strategy” of the BJP to distract the public from other, more pressing issues.

Taking a swipe at the BJP, Yadav said, “Those who want to dig everywhere will someday lose the cordiality and brotherhood of the country.” The SP leader also accused the administration involved in the Sambhal case of acting in a biased manner, suggesting that they were behaving as though they were BJP party workers rather than impartial authorities.

The SP supremo also claimed that his party has consistently tried to bring up the Sambhal issue since the beginning of the current parliamentary session but the proceedings in the House have not been functioning properly, preventing them from raising their concerns.

Speaking to the media here today, Akhilesh Yadav said, “Since the day when the parliament session began, the Samajwadi Party has tried to raise the issue of the Sambhal incident. The House didn’t function, but our demand is still the same – we want to put our views on the Sambhal incident in the House.” “The officers out there are working arbitrarily – such that they are working as party workers of the BJP. Sambhal incident is a well-thought strategy of the BJP to deviate people from other issues. Those who want to dig everywhere – someday they will lose the cordiality and brotherhood of the country,” said Akhilesh Yadav.

Earlier on Monday, Uttar Pradesh Police issued a notice to Congress state president Ajay Rai asking them not to visit violence-hit Sambhal.

In the notice given to Ajay Rai, he has been informed that “Keeping in mind the peace and communal sensitivity in Sambhal district, he should cooperate in the public interest and postpone his proposed program so that the order passed by the District Magistrate of Sambhal district, Section 163 BNSS is not violated.” Tensions in Sambhal have been high since November 19 when clashes between protestors and police over the court-ordered survey of the Jama Masjid resulted in four deaths.

Yadav also spoke on the Bangladesh issue, and said, “The government of India should think about it – these things shouldn’t happen – how they can claim to be a strong government if they cannot respect our saints.” The situation in Bangladesh has been marked by increasing violence against minority communities, after the arrest of a spritual leader Chinmoy Krishna Das over sedition charges and for allegedly hoisting a saffron flag above Bangladesh’s national flag in Chittagong on October 25.

A 26-year-old probationary IPS officer in Karnataka died in a road accident when he was heading to report for work in Hassan on Sunday.

Harsh Bardhan, a native of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, was with the Karnataka cadre of the Indian Police Service (IPS), sources said.

According to a police officer, Bardhan was at the Karnataka Police Academy in Mysuru for training. On Sunday, he left to report for duty in Hassan City in a police jeep along with a driver provided by the department.

The vehicle’s tyre reportedly burst on the way, causing the driver to lose control.

Passersby shifted the two to a hospital but Harsh Bardhan did not respond to the treatment and succumbed, the police said. The driver has sustained minor injuries.

The son of a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in Madhya Pradesh, Bardhan was a civil engineering graduate. According to a police officer, he had completed a four-week course in Mysuru and was about to take up practical training in Hassan for the next six months.