Tension prevailed at the Sri Chaitanya College in Hyderabad's Kukatpally area after an Intermediate student was mowed down on Monday morning by a bus that belonged to the same institute.
The student, identified as Ramya, had alighted from the bus and was attempting to cross the road when the rear wheel of the bus ran over her. The students of the institute have claimed that the bus was making a U-turn and the driver had not realised that the girl had not moved away. The police said that she died on the spot.
The incident triggered an angry response from students who staged a protest on the road, causing a massive traffic jam.
Visuals of the incident also showed students breaking the window panes of the college bus and vandalizing the vehicle.
After this, students rushed to the college's Bhaskar Bhavan and threw stones, breaking several glass panes of the building as well. They also raised slogans demanding justice.
See visuals of the vandalised bus below.
“It is negligence on part of the college management. When they hire a driver for the bus, they should conduct a background check and ensure that he is responsible. Instead, just because he has a driving license, they give him a meagre salary and entrust the lives of so many students in his hands. There have been many similar accidents in the past,” a student leader told local reporters.
An official from the institute stated that while students of the college started the protests, they got out of hand after student union groups also arrived at the spot. The police rushed to the spot and were also forced to lathicharge some of the students.
"It was mostly students from outside (who protested). Our students had an exam today (Monday) from 8 am to 11 am and when we heard the news of the girl's death, we declared a holiday and evacuated everyone," an official from the institute said, as he oversaw others picking up and disposing of the broken glass shards.
A case has been registered and an investigation is underway. According to media reports, the driver has been taken into custody and is expected to be presented in front of a local court later today.
Ramya’s body has been sent for a post-mortem and will be handed over to the family after the due procedure.