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Saurav Ghai |
Cops look into gale tragedy
Town Hall could face charges over death of two-year-old
DETECTIVES have discussed whether unprecedented manslaughter charges should be brought against Camden Council after a two-year-old boy was crushed by the boundary wall of a housing estate in Thursday’s high winds.
Officially, police are not about talking publicly about what course their investigation into the tragic death of toddler Saurav Ghai will take, other than confirming that they are working with health and safety experts and that their probe is expected to take months rather than weeks.
But the New Journal has learned that officers believe the Town Hall has “serious questions” to answer about the state of the six-foot wall at the Wendling estate in Southampton Road, Gospel Oak, before it collapsed during the gales.
They are treating seriously reports that bits of the wall had broken down in the past and claims from residents that the council had been warned about its condition.
While no individuals would face prosecution, police sources said, Camden as a local authority could be liable.
Saurav was crushed under the bricks at around 1.20pm following a severe gust of wind and died at the Royal Free Hospital shortly afterwards. His childminder escaped serious injury.
One of the best-placed eye-witnesses, Angela Bennett, was just a couple of feet away from the wall when it suddenly collapsed and has been haunted by the memory of trying to scoop bricks away from little Saurav.
She said: “I just keep thinking I wish it was me that was by the wall at that time. If I had been walking ahead then it would have hit me and I probably wouldn’t have died. There was just a sudden wind. When it is someone so little, it is so hard to take. If it was me, you could say I’ve had a life but his was just beginning.”
Ms Bennett had been on the same number 46 bus from Hampstead as Saurav and his childminder. They got off at the same stop.
She said: “We were just trying to get the bricks away and calling for help. I am not sleeping. I can’t get it out of my head.”
Council leader Councillor Keith Moffitt led a series of messages of condolences at Monday’s full council meeting, a session that was at times sombre and unsurprisingly lacking in the usual round of knockabout banter.
He said: “The death of this young boy will have a lasting effect on those who loved him and is deeply concerning to the council.”
Gospel Oak ward councillor Keith Sedgwick brought the tragedy into sharp focus at the meeting by raising concerns how housing chiefs assess property. His concern is that only small test samples are taken during surveys and that the true state of the housing stock is unknown.
He said: “What we do here is pretty serious if we are going to put pen to paper to say whether the walls and fabric of our buildings are safe for the public.”
In a reference to a wider debate about how repairs to council estates are funded, Cllr Sedgwick added: “In light of this tragedy I want us to just go back and think, think about the implications of this tragedy and think about the implications of not spending money on our council housing for ideological reasons. We need to make our housing safe, it’s a responsibility that has been made very clear to me under the saddest of circumstances.” Cllr Moffitt has promised to help police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) with their investigations. The Town Hall said it would make safety checks on all of its estate walls as a precaution.
The wall was examined closely before a whole stretch was pulled down by the council and replaced with temporary fencing. Before it was taken down it was possible to see the different colour of bricks where it had apparently been renewed in the past.
At the family home in Parkhill Walk, Belsize Park, Saurav’s father Vinay Ghai, who works in the city, appealed for privacy while the family grieve. A relative said: “He was a beautiful boy who was smiling from the day he was born. That is how we will remember him.” Relatives visited the scene on Friday afternoon, which has since been covered with flowers and cards and is seconds away from St Dominic’s Church where the family worship.
Detective Inspector Steve Pleece said yesterday (Wednesday) that the police and HSE investigation would “take time”.
Officers are understood to have spoken to residents at Wendling and are analysing whether possible faults in the wall should have been addressed.
Tenant Edward Butler said on Thursday that he had buttressed the section of the wall backing onto his garden with wood.
He said: “We had problems with the wall a couple of years ago – that’s why I put a bit of wall there. The wall should have some bits of metal holding it together. There are other walls that are just the same and we’ve told the council about them. If this woman (referring to childminder) wants to make a case about this, I would support her.”
Another resident said cracks in the wall came from damage caused in storms 20 years ago.
Matthew McCoy, who lives in the flat where the garden wall collapsed, said: “The neighbours have raised the issue, they said that the wall needed to be supported. I just heard a bang and ran out there and tried to help. The baby was unconscious and someone was trying to resuscitate it.”
Cllr Moffitt and the council’s housing chief Councillor Chris Naylor said they were unable to answer specific questions about the tragedy while the investigation was ongoing.
Cllr Moffitt said: “As is normal practice following a death of this kind, the Police and Health and Safety Executive are now investigating and we will also carry out our own investigation. Our building control team has secured the site with the police.”
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “A joint investigation between the Health and Safety Executive and the Metropolitan police has been launched.”
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