No one came to help: Kin

It was like any other day for B Loganathan, father of Chithra (19) who was in B Com second year, when his daughter left for college. 

Standing outside the mortuary of the Government Royapettah Hospital on Thursday evening, he couldn’t believe she would never return. An employee of Ashok Leyland and a resident of Tiruvottiyur, Loganathan said, “How can someone drive so fast? The tanker stopped only after ramming into seven people. This has happened outside a college, where there is a lot of movement and crowd. Is speeding more important than lives? Can’t the authorities do anything about reckless driving? I want justice for my daughter and the other girls who died. The police must take stringent action against such speeding drivers”. 

The family of Ayisha, another student who was killed on the spot, said that they were appalled that the college authorities didn’t even come to the spot. “That’s the least they could have done, considering the incident happened right outside the college,” said one of the family members. 

Four others injured in the incident included two other students from the college- Meena and TG Jayasree — apart from Savaraj  and Omanakuttan. Jayasree’s mother Vijayalakshmi, said that they had left together in the morning from their home in Tiruninravur. “I got a call from an onlooker, who informed me that Jayasree had met with an accident and that they were taking her in an ambulance to the hospital.” 

While the rest were treated on outpatient basis and sent home, Jayasree, BCom, second year, evening college student, is undergoing treatment at the hospital.  Bursting into tears, Vijayalakshmi added, “She is in a state of shock; she is lucky to have escaped.” 

Meanwhile, college authorities said despite several pleas, there was no speed breaker installed in front of the college, as the vehicles were plying at top speed causing problems to road users and college students. 

The management wanted the authorities to allow the MTC women’s special bus to enter the college premises to pick the students as they need not go out of the campus to board the bus.