Hyderabad: Young Rekula Ramya had visited her parents in Kattadan just 12 hours before she was tragically mowed down by a bus belonging to her own college, Sri Chaitanya, after the driver ran a red light. She went to her parents’ home in Kattedan on Sunday and returned to her aunt’s house in Jagadgirigutta that night.
On Monday morning, while crossing the road she met with the fatal accident. Students of Sri Chaitanya Junior College who witnessed the accident went on the rampage after the accident and damaged the college bus and other college property. They threw stones at the bus, broke its windows with iron rods and pelted stones at the college building, damaging the windows.
The Kukatpally police had to be called in and resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the students from wrecking further damage. After some time, the girl’s family and relatives arrived and together with the students staged a protest demanding justice and the inevitable ex-gratia payment. The protest caused a huge traffic jam. After long negotiations and an assurance from the police to arrest the accused, they withdrew the protest.
Kukatpally Assistant Commissioner of Police B. Surender Rao confirmed that the students damaged the college buses and also pelted stones at the college building. Responding to a query, he said the management has not lodged a complaint against the students. “The parents of the deceased girl have lodged a complaint and a case has been booked against the bus driver. He is currently in custody and will be produced in court.”
Videos of the vandalisation by the students were doing the rounds on the internet soon after the incident. The video showed students breaking the window panes of the college bus and vandalising the vehicle.
A Anand, convenor, Medchal district, Akhil Bhartiya Vidhya Vidyarti Parishad (ABVP), the student's wing of the BJP, said, "It's completely the bus driver's mistake; the accident occurred because of the negligence of the driver. Many people said the driver was wearing earphones while driving the bus. We condemn the incident. We also held a protest at the Sri Chaitanya Campus and many general students reacted to the incident and pelted stones on all the buses of the college and vandalised many campuses of Sri Chaintya in Kukatpally area."
G Vijaya, a parent from the same institute, alleged that the incident occurred because of the negligence of the institute and the driver. She added that this is negligence shown by the colleges despite collecting huge fees from the parents. "The colleges are least bothered about hiring professional drivers which can save many lives. It's high time that the college takes some responsibility for the safety of students."
