Father of dead schoolboy waits, still unaware

Students of the St Philomena’s School, Sarjapura, victims of the accident in which their school bus was involved, were undergoing treatment at Sparsh Hospital, Hosur Road.

Lokesh, 40, father of 13-year-old Abhilash, waited at his home in Chokkarasanapalli, Hosur taluk, Tamil Nadu for news of his son. Although Abhilash had been taken to the hospital conscious, he had succumbed to his injuries. His father, however, had not been informed of the death.

Hebbagodi circle inspector Yelagaiah said, “The parents of Abhilash were already in a state of shock. We told relatives that the boy is in intensive care, and undergoing treatment. Other relatives have been informed of the death, but we have not been able to tell the parents.” Late in the night, Lokesh waited, unaware.
Lokesh is a farmer. Unknown to him, other relatives had taken the body of the boy to a mortuary.

Raja Reddy, 35, and his wife Shylaja, waited at Sparsh Hospital. Their daughter Jamuna, 14, is undergoing treatment for a ruptured abdomen. Reddy too is a farmer, and his family lives in Lokesh’s neighbourhood.

“I closed my eyes when the bus keeled over. I don’t know what driver uncle did, the bus just rolled over,” said Jamuna’s seven-year-old sister Lavanya, who was also in the school bus with her sister. Lavanya escaped with minor injuries.

This DNA reporter witnessed the injured Jamuna assuring her mother that all her injuries were on the hand. She explained that shards of broken glass from the window panes of the bus had pierced her. Dr Benny Thomas, trauma manager at the hospital, explained that Jamuna’s abdomen had suffered rupture, and that a CT scan would be done to assess damage and ascertain the course of treatment.

Sylaja, the girl’s mother, said that she had seen some people from the school at the hospital. But none of them bothered to meet the anxious parents. “Our people went to the school, but could not find the principal and the authorities,” she said.

At the Veerayoga Institute of Medical Sciences, (VIMS), Marathahalli, Yashwant, 12, is undergoing an operation to repair his ruptured bladder. Pawani, 10, was under supervision after having undergone surgery on the face. She had sustained fracture on the upper and lower jaws. One student, Srinivas, was lucky to escape with a fractured collar bone. His condition is now stable, and he can expect to be quickly discharged. The condition of one student, Govindraj, was unknown. Hospital authorities said that he was undergoing treatment for major injuries.

At the Town Hospital, Sarjapura, parents of children being treated were waiting for hospital staff to shift children to wards equipped with beds. Deepak, 10, who had been treated for minor head injuries said, “Our bus driver is often rash. We heard a screeching noise, and then a huge thud. Before we knew what was happening, the bus had toppled.”

Parents waiting at the Town Hospital said that school authorities had visited the spot and assured them that the medical expenses would be borne by the school.

Although the capacity of the bus was only 16 adults, over 30 children had been crammed into it. Police said that Govindaraju, 32, the driver of the bus and the only adult on board, will have a case of negligence slapped on him. He had sustained serious injuries and was undergoing treatment, so police could not question him. Witnesses claimed that the man was drunk and had been driving rashly. However, other bus drivers at the school claimed that all the buses that the school had acquired were in poor condition, second-hand and bought for the cost of peanuts.
Social welfare minister A Narayana Swamy, who had visited the site of the accident, announced compensation of Rs1 lakh for the family of Abhilash, who died in the accident.