Thiruvananthapuram: A routine machinery setup turned fatal at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regional office in Kerala's capital after a technician passed away from critical injuries when his hand was caught in a heavy-duty note-shredding machine.

The deceased has been identified as Ashok, a native of Bengaluru who was employed by an external firm contracted by the apex bank to handle the installation process.

According to the police, the incident occurred on Wednesday during the assembly and installation of the industrial note-shredding unit at the RBI office complex. While working on the equipment, Ashok's hand unexpectedly got trapped inside the mechanism, resulting in severe traumatic injuries.

He was immediately freed by co-workers and rushed to a nearby private medical facility for emergency stabilisation before being transferred to a multi-speciality hospital. However, despite medical intervention, he succumbed to his injuries.

The police have registered a case regarding the incident and are conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fatal work site accident.
Risks behind currency destruction machinery
The Reserve Bank of India relies heavily on automated Currency Verification and Processing Systems (CVPS) and high-capacity shredding units across its regional offices to systematically destroy non-issuable banknotes. Because these industrial-grade shredders operate under high pressure to pulverize paper currency into unrecoverable briquettes, installation and maintenance protocols typically require strict safety precautions, including specialised lockout-tagout procedures to prevent accidental activation.

(With PTI inputs)