Vadodara: In a tragic incident highlighting the growing monkey menace, a three-year-old girl died after a cement block dislodged by monkeys fell on her head at an under-construction building in the Baranpura area of Vadodara. The child, who was playing beneath the structure, sustained severe injuries and later died during treatment at a hospital. Police have registered a case of accidental death and launched an investigation.

The incident occurred near Bharati School in Baranpura, where construction work on a multi-storey building was underway. According to details of the incident, a group of monkeys had climbed onto the top floor of the building and were jumping on the parapet wall. As a result, heavy cement blocks placed there were reportedly dislodged and came crashing down.

The victim, Dhruvi Rathwa, was playing beneath the building when one of the blocks struck her. She suffered severe head and body injuries and began bleeding heavily. Workers at the construction site immediately rushed to help and alerted emergency services.

The family contacted the 108 ambulance service, following which the child was rushed to Sayaji Hospital for treatment. However, she succumbed to her injuries shortly after being admitted.

The victim was the daughter of labourer Govindbhai Rathwa, who originally hails from Chhota Udepur. He had been working at the site as a mason and was staying there with his family.

The Wadi police have sent the body for postmortem and initiated further investigation. Authorities are also examining whether safety norms and adequate protective measures were in place at the construction site at the time of the incident. DeshGujarat