Chennai: It was a meteorite that killed bus driver Kamaraj at a private engineering college in Vellore district on Saturday. Confirming this in a statement here, chief minister J. Jayalalithaa expressed grief over the driver’s death and granted solatium of Rs 1 lakh to his family besides instructing the district administration and hospital authorities to provide the best of treatment for the three men injured in that explosion that was followed by fire and a deep crater.
The chief minister also announced cash relief of Rs 25,000 each to the injured college gardeners Sasikumar and Murali, and student Santhosh.
On Saturday, at around 12.30 hours, the Bharathidasan Engineering College at K Pantharappalli village near Natrampalli was rocked by a blast near the water tank.
Windowpanes in the college building located some distance away and also the college buses were shattered. Trees near the blast site were scorched. Students and staff rushed out in panic.
Driver Kamaraj and the three others who were close to the blast site sustained burn injuries and were rushed to the Natrampalli hospital. Unfortunately, Kamaraj died on the way.
Initially, people suspected that the explosion might have been caused by a bomb blast. The place was cordoned off by the police. The bomb squad, however, found no evidence of any explosive material at the site. Some strange-looking stones were found and their samples were taken for analysis by scientists.
A similar blast had been reported in a paddy field at Alangayam village in Vellore district on January 26.
