B'luru: 4-year old crushed to death by bus

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: In a tragic incident, a four-and-a- half year old girl was crushed to death under the wheels of a Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus near Uttarahalli on Wednesday.

The incident took place near Padmavathi Silks Showroom on Uttarahalli Main Road, when the girl, identified as Poorvi Rao, was riding pillion with her father, Prasanna, on a bike.

The bus knocked them down from behind causing both of them to fall. Prasanna fell to the left side of the bike, while Poorvi fell on the right side and came under the wheels of the bus.

She died on the spot, the police said. It was revealed that Prasanna was on the way to drop his daughter at Bengaluru International Public School where she was a pre-KG student.

Prasanna, an employee at CISCO, used to drop his daughter daily at her school before going to work. Following the incident, the bus driver identified as Basavaraj Poojari was taken into custody by Kumaraswamy Layout traffic police.

An investigation is underway. 'Bus just touched footrest' "This is the most tragic accident we have seen in the area," Saravana, an eyewitness to the incident, told News Trail. 

He said that it was around 9 am when he saw a commotion outside his shop on the main road. The BMTC bus was going towards Subramanyapura from the Circle, he said.

"It was later revealed that the bus just touched the footrest of the bike slightly which caused Prasanna to lose balance," Saravana added.

Speaking to News Trail, sources close to Prasanna's said that earlier, the family had decided to avail the van service offered by the school by paying an extra fee.

However Prasanna, who was so attached to his daughter, took it upon himself to drop her at school. This is not the first death due to the negligent and rash driving in the city involving a BMTC bus.

Expressing concern over the rising number of deaths caused by road accidents, an official from the jurisdictional traffic police station said that people should drive more carefully.

"In most accident cases the drivers involved are found to be suffering from stress or frustration," he said.