Faridabad: Jagdish Prasad, the 58-year-old on-duty police inspector who died trying to save people at the Surajkund fairgrounds after a giant swing snapped mid-air and collapsed, was awarded the Police Medal by the Haryana governor in 2019-20.
About 19 people were riding the swing when it tilted around 6 pm on Saturday before crashing onto the ground, leaving 11 injured.
Prasad, who joined the Haryana Armed Police in 1989 and was to retire in March after completing 36 years in the force, showed great bravery in trying to save those trapped in the swing, but received severe injuries in the process, leading to his death, a senior officer said.
In the meantime, the district administration has informed that the 39th Surajkund International Crafts Festival will continue on Sunday, with the swing area closed pending further investigation.
On Saturday night, Haryana DGP Ajay Singhal announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the brave inspector and a government job to one member of his family.
Stating that Prasad will be given the status of a martyr, the DGP lauded the officer for sacrificing his life trying to save the lives of others.
Haryana Tourism Minister Arvind Sharma said the injured people are out of danger now.
A committee headed by the additional deputy commissioner will investigate the accident, and a case has been registered against the swing vendor, officials said.
The sudden demise of Prasad, who is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son, all students and unmarried, has shocked his native village Dengra in Mathura district.
One of Prasad’s brothers, Pradeep, is a teacher and lives in the village with his father Surajmal and mother Shanti Devi. His other brother, Satish Chandra, works at a chemical factory in Ballabgarh, while another, Chandrabhan Singh, works at a motor company in Faridabad.
“We received the news at 8 pm on Saturday. His wife Sudha lives with her two daughters, Nidhi and Deepti, and son Gaurav, in a government accommodation in the Sonipat Police Lines. My brother was awarded the Police Medal by the governor in 2019-20,” Pradeep said.
This was the third such accident involving a swing at the Surajkund fair, raising questions about the organisers’ safety claims.
Despite a death in 2002 and an injury in 2019, Saturday saw another fatality.
In 2002, a young man died on a swing in the Surajkund fair area. At that time, swings were suspended for a few years.
Another accident in 2019 injured a young man, after which swings were again suspended before being restarted, keeping in view the revenues they generated.
According to officials, strict rules are in place for installing swings, for which daily inspections need to be conducted.