Girl falls to death through hole in school bus in Chennai

[email protected] (THE HINDU)
July 26, 2012

holebus

Tambaram, July 26: A 6-year-old girl was run over by the rear wheels of her schoolbus, after she slipped through a hole on the floor of the vehicle, at Mudichur near Tambaram on Wednesday.


Angry residents and other motorists set upon the bus and set it on fire, demanding strong action against those responsible for the accident.


Gaping hole

S.Sruthi, a class II student of Zion Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Indira Nagar in Selaiyur, Tambaram, was seated on the sixth row on the bus (TN 23 S 9952). It was 4.05 p.m. Her stop, near Manimangalam koot road on Mudichur Road, was near. Sruthi got up, but her little feet slipped into a gaping hole right under the seat, into the road below. The rear wheels of the bus ran over her, killing her instantly. Students inside the bus and other motorists raised an alarm, but it was a while before the bus driver Seeman realised what had happened, according to Suresh, an eye-witness.


Intercepted by motorists, Seeman brought the bus to halt at Habibullah Avenue bus stop. Commuters beat up Seeman and the bus' attender. A police patrol vehicle secured the duo from a quickly growing mob.


By 4.30 p.m., angry parents, residents and passing motorists had damaged the bus and deflated its tyres, before soaking a piece of cloth in petrol and setting the vehicle ablaze at. A fire tender from Tambaram reached the spot about 30 minutes later and put out the fire, but the bus was gutted by then. The accident brought traffic to a grinding halt on the stretch.


A question over safety

“We were waiting eagerly for our children to get down from the bus. It took a while for us to realise what had happened,” said Suresh, whose two sons were also in the ill-fated vehicle.


“It was a real shock. None of us were able to react. The first thing we wanted to do after the bus came to a halt was to secure the safety of the 20-odd other children who were travelling in the bus. We took them to the premises of Santhosh Hospital, from where we contacted their parents,” said D.Vasu, Office Assistant at Mudichur Village Panchayat.


Police sources said the vehicle had received its fitness certificate less than six months back. A case has been registered at St. Thomas Mount Traffic Police (Investigation). The girl’s body has been removed to Tambaram Taluk Government Hospital in Chromepet for post-mortem.


N. Vijayan, Correspondent of Zion Group of Schools, said they had declared a holiday on Thursday and added that the school would give compensation to the family. Mr. Vijayan said the bus was taken on contract by Yogeswaran. However, an officer of the Transport Department said that the bus was registered in the school’s name.


Traffic police personnel said the exact cause of the accident and details related to it would be established only after a thorough investigation.


Priya, the victim’s mother, was waiting further ahead at the Manimangalam ‘koot’ road. When there was no sign of the bus and she found other students had got down near Nawab Habibullah Avenue, she panicked. Some residents took her home and tried to convince her that Sruthi was safe, but Priya lost consciousness.


Kin inconsolable

Parents and residents lingered at the accident site long after the incident. Sruthi, affectionately called Mala, is the daughter of Sethumadhavan, who owns an autorickshaw and a Maruti Omni, ferrying school children in the morning and evening. Priya, the girl’s mother, is a homemaker. Sruthi’s elder brother Pranav is a class V student in Mudichur.


“Sruthi was a bright student and her parents did everything to provide her the best education. That is why they got her admitted in a school very far away,” said Tarakeswari, a family friend. Sruthi was a gifted dancer, a show stealer on special occasions in her neighbourhood in Bharadwaj Nagar near Tambaram, Ms. Tarakeswari said.


“Sethumadhavan would never ask for fare from his neighbours and would drop everyone on the main road or at the nearest bus stop. He works extremely hard to provide for his children,” said Rukmani, another neighbour, adding that everyone in PTC Quarters knew the family.




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Agencies
January 6,2020

New Delhi, Jan 6: A blind student who is pursuing research in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was also attacked by the mob that perpetrated violence in the University yesterday.

"I thought that the mob which came yesterday would disperse after raising a few slogans but they indulged in violence. They were targeting ABVP students. They beat me with sticks and rods. When I went to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, I came to know that there are many other injured students there," Surya Prakash, the blind student pursuing research in the University told ANI.

"I talked to my family members. They are really worried about the situation here. I qualified in the National Eligibility Test (NET) last year but I want to study and hence I am continuing research in JNU. How can we do anything in this atmosphere of fear? I am receiving calls from anonymous numbers threatening me not to come in front of the media. They are saying that as I am blind, I would become the face of this case," he added.

Another PhD student, Santosh Bhagat recounted his experience.

"In the evening at around 7 pm, many masked men entered the hostel. They had rods and sticks in their hands. We tried to go out but the attackers had entered the premises by then. I locked my room from inside but the attackers broke the door and entered my room and attacked me. They pushed me from the first floor and I fell down and sustained an injury. Later, I took shelter at one of the Professor's flat. Later, I was taken to the AIIMS Trauma Cantre," Bhagat said.

On Sunday evening, more than 30 students of the university, including JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh, were injured and were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre after a masked mob entered the JNU and attacked them and professors with sticks and rods.

The JNU administration and political leaders, cutting across political lines, condemned the attack on students and urged the police to take action against the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, the situation remained tense but peaceful outside JNU on Monday morning as the university guards maintained a strict vigil at the gate, checking I-cards of all those entering the university.

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News Network
July 9,2020

Etawah, Jul 9: Another aide of the Kanpur encounter accused Vikas Dubey, Bahua Dubey, died in an encounter with the police, here on Thursday.

"Today at around 4.30 AM, in an encounter with the Etawah Police, one person has died. from him, a rifle and a pistol too has been recovered. When we shared the information with the Kanpur Police, they identified him as Bahua Dubey," said SSP Etawah Akash Tomar.

"He was involved in the Kanpur encounter alongside Vikas Dubey and there was a bounty of Rs 50,000 on him," he added.

"Around 3 AM on the highway near Mahewa Police Station Bakewar, a Swift Dzire car was looted by four armed assailants on a Scorpio. Around 4:30 AM, they were intercepted at Kachaura road under Police Station Civil lines by the police. When police parties chased them, the car collided with a tree, and criminals started firing at the police," he further said.

Dubey sustained injuries during the encounter and was pronounced dead when taken to the hospital. However, the other three managed to escape. One pistol, a double-barrel gun, and several cartridges have been recovered, he informed further.

Earlier today, Prabhat Mishra, also an aide of the main accused, died after being shot at by the police.

Mishra had sustained an injury on the leg after being shot at by the police and was rushed to a hospital before being pronounced dead.

Vikas Dubey is the main accused in the encounter that took place in Kanpur last week, in which a group of assailants allegedly opened fire on a police team, which had gone to arrest him. Eight police personnel were killed in the encounter.

A search operation is currently underway to nab Dubey.

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News Network
July 17,2020

Ahmadabad, July 17: The Gujarat high court has ordered the Bharuch superintendent of police to investigate and produce a 14-year-old girl before the court, who has allegedly eloped with a man. Ironically, the man was convicted two years ago on Pocso charges for eloping with another minor girl in 2016.

The high court has asked the government to file an application for bail cancellation of the convict because he has indulged in a similar offence after having come out on bail.

The case involved one Dilip Padhiyar (24) from Uchchhad village in Jambusar taluka of Bharuch district.

He was punished with 10 years in jail in December 2018 by a special court for kidnapping a 16-year-old girl in 2016. He was prosecuted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and for rape and kidnapping charges. He got away with a 10-year-imprisonment because the girl was over 16 years and she had not alleged rape. However, Dilip Padhiyar was held guilty of statutory rape, abduction as well as under provisions of Pocso Act.

Dinesh Padhiyar got regular bail from the high court pending his appeal challenging his conviction in January 2019. In November 2019, he eloped with another minor girl.

Her father approached the high court complaining that though an FIR was registered with Vedach police station, the police have not made any effort to trace his minor girl. It was also contended in the habeas corpus petition that Padhiyar is a habitual offender.

Petitioner's advocate Imtiyaz Kureshi said that looking at the past of Dinesh Padhiyar, the high court asked the state government to initiate proceedings for cancellation of his bail.

The bench headed by Justice Sonia Gokani instructed HC's registry to treat the bail cancellation application as an urgent matter.

The high court has ordered Bharuch SP to produce the girl before the court by July 20, and in case she cannot be traced by then, he will have to submit an action taken report.

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