MAPUSA: Tension gripped the otherwise peaceful village of Assagao on Thursday afternoon when a passenger bus ran over a 16-year-old girl, Suman Viswakarma, killing her on the spot. A large number of villagers who had gathered at the site pelted stones at the bus and resorted to rasta roko that was called off after Anjuna police inspector Manjunath Desai arrived on the scene and gave an assurance that he will take strict possible action in the matter.
It so happened that the driver and conductor of the private passenger mini bus bearing registration number GA 01 Z 5640 ‘ Shaila’ that was to depart from the Mapusa KTC bus stand for Assagao-Badem at 3 p.m. departed at 3.10 p.m. after an argument with the driver and conductor of a KTC bus, running on the same route, that was scheduled to depart for Assagao-Badem at 3.30 pm.
The bus driver who left the bus stand late then caught up and drove the bus at full speed. On reaching near the Our Lady of Piety chapel at Bairo Alto in Assagao, the bus dashed against Suman, a girl studying in Assagao Union High School. The bus then went over her head and the driver still did not stop the bus.
It is learnt that the girl along with her family members was waiting to cross the road to board a Mapusa-bound bus as the family was going to seek blessings of Lord Bodgeshwar.
Unfortunately as there was a car parked on the right side of the road, the bus driver, Rupesh Gaonkar (36), who was speeding, took his bus towards the left thereby hitting the girl, throwing her down and killing her on the spot. People who gathered there on noticing this immediately stopped the bus and pelted stones at the bus in a fit of anger. In no time a large number of people had gathered there.
108 ambulance and the police were also informed. The police sub-inspector, Mr Pilgaonkar from the Anjuna police station immediately shifted the body to the hospital. This enraged the crowd who wanted a thorough panchanama.
The entire main road of Assagao was then blocked. The driver and the conductor fled from the scene. Locals demanded action against the erring police personnel who didn’t do any marking and lifted the body in haste. A little later, the Siolim MLA, Dayanand Mandrekar also arrived and was seen pacifying the crowd.
Anjuna PI, Desai, who could not arrive on the scene as he had no vehicle at his disposal, arrived a little later and pacified the crowd.
He apologised for the mistake committed by his men and assured the crowd that a thorough panchanama will be done and strict action will be taken against the bus driver.
Thereafter, the crowd dispersed. However, till late evening as the bus was on the road and the road being narrow, all other buses had to be diverted to Assagao Badem via the Anjuna road.
Desai, meanwhile, said that he will chargesheet the case in one month and permit of the bus and the license of the driver would be cancelled.
The bus was involved in three accidents earlier. In the first accident, a person from Bihar was killed at Assagao two years back; in the following two accidents, a girl was hit at Khorlim a few months back and prior to that a 18-year-old boy had fallen down from it near the Gandhi Chowk, however, these two cases were amicably settled.
The Anjuna PI said that he would be writing to the RTA office at Mapusa to cancel the licence of the bus driver and also the permit of the bus as this was the second fatal accident involving the same bus.
He said that an offence has been registered against the driver and he would soon be arrested.
3 comments:
Had action been taken in the earlier accidents committed by the same Bus company, Suman Viswakarma would have been alive to day. Yet we will see this being repeated all over Goa where bus companies get away lightly.
This is what happens when you have a corrupt system. You can bribe your way on just anything and get away with murder. I wonder whether the Driver of this bus really had a hard earned drivers liscence, as today although our RTO department talks so much on Road safety these RTO officers are the very ones who issue liscence's if you give them the so called "Gandhi Notes". How does one expect Road discipline in such cases. In this case of rash driving the Driver should be banned for life & a heavy penalty imposed on him. There is no other way out to teach these SOB's a lesson.
These private buses for a few bucks extra have not yet given up the trend that they have followed for years , dangerously racing for passengers and our police has not yet come down with a iron hand on them. Paulo's transport (I do not know if they have improved now) were known to have had the most arrogant and dangerous drivers on the road, I say this because I and my mother missed death by one of these killers busses while it was trying to overtake another. Really sad to read about this young girl.
Post a Comment