A young girl was killed on the spot after she was run over by a garbage truck of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in Hebbal in Bengaluru on Monday, March 21. The 15-year-old was identified as Akshara. Her father, Narasimhamurthy, works with the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), and her family said that she wanted to become a pilot. She was a Class 9 student. The incident is said to have occurred when the girl was crossing a road, as an underpass was flooded.
Speaking to the media, her sister, Sandhya, said that they were done with school by 12 pm and they used a particular underpass every day. However, on Monday, it was flooded. "The underpass was flooded. An uncle on the road told us to cross the road as the underpass could not be used. There were six of us trying to cross the road. Akshaya was on my right side. When the vehicles stopped, we crossed,” she said. That’s when the accident occurred. Another woman was also reported to be injured in the accident.
The family also said that no traffic police personnel were stationed at the spot. BBMP Commissioner Gaurav Gupta inspected the scene of the accident. Speaking to reporters, he said that he would not like to blame anyone for the accident. "The officials will look into it. There are CCTV cameras to determine what happened. I request people not to risk their lives and cross the roads when elevated walkways or subways are available," he said. The Commissioner also said that the subway next to the Hebbal flyover was not completely inundated. "Even now, I saw people using it. This subway is not completely dark or in a bad state. I urge people not to cross roads, especially where there are medians of three feet."
The lorry driver, identified as Manjunath, has been arrested. Further investigation into the incident is underway.