A postgraduate student at Bangalore University’s Jnanabharati campus sustained grievous injuries after a state-run bus struck and critically injured her as she was attempting to board it. This led to protests on the Jnanabharati campus with students closing the gates of the campus and demanding a ban on the movement of vehicles on campus.
The students also raised slogans against Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC). According to protesters who had assembled to call for a prohibition on public automobiles on campus, Shilpashree, a student in the mathematics department, has been admitted to a private hospital, reported The Indian Express.
According to eyewitnesses, Shilpashree, an MSc student was boarding a BMTC bus in the morning when the driver allegedly failed to notice her and moved ahead. As a result she came under the wheels of the bus. She was rushed to a private hospital in Nagarabavi and later moved to Fortis hospital on Bannerghatta Road, where she is undergoing treatment. After the accident, the driver and conductor fled the spot leaving behind the bus. “The girl’s condition is very critical and she is currently undergoing treatment,” a police official told TNM.
The bus driver of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) was detained on charges of negligence at the Jnanabharati police station, informed the police. It was not the first accident on the campus, according to student Lokesh Ram. He told The Indian Express that there have been multiple accidents involving both private and public vehicles over the past two months. “We will continue to strike until the institution decides to restrict car access to only that of students, teaching personnel, and non-teaching employees,” he said.
Earlier on September 17, an 18-year-old woman was flung into the air after being hit by a speeding vehicle. The 18-year-old, identified as Ashwini, and another person were trying to cross the road as vehicles were passing. On seeing a car approaching, the other person stopped but the young woman continued walking and got hit by the car.