At least 30 killed as Private bus falls into canal in Mandya district
Mandya, Nov 24: At least 30 passengers, most of them women and children, were killed when a speeding private bus in which they were travelling plunged into a canal in Karnataka's Mandya district Saturday, officials said.
The bus, which was moving on a road along the VC canal at Kanaganamaradi, 105 km South-West of Bengaluru, swerved and toppled into it, completely submerging the vehicle and killing the victims instantaneously, officials said.
Police said 30 bodies have been recovered and two people were rescued.
Among those killed were eight men, 13 women and nine children, they said.
Preliminary reports suggested that negligence on the part of the driver may have caused the accident, officials said.
The fate of the driver and conductor was not known.
Officials have handed over most of the bodies to the family members.
Most of those killed were from nearby Vadesamudra village, locals said.
They said the children were returning home after half day school when the accident took place.
Long wails of grief-stricken kin of the victims rent the air as rescue teams fished out the bodies one after the other.
The district authorities roped in a crane to lift the bus from the canal.
Police had a difficult time controlling the crowd was people living nearby thronged the mishap site.
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy rushed to the accident spot, cancelling all his official engagements.
The state government has announced a compensation of Rs five lakh each to the kin of those killed.
"The Chief Minister has announced a compensation of Rs five lakh to the kin of the deceased.
Deeply pained by the incident, he has prayed to God to give strength to the families of the deceased to help them bear the loss," the Chief Minister's office said.
President Ramnath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and state opposition leader BS Yeddyurappa expressed grief over the loss of lives.
"Extremely saddened to learn about the tragic bus accident in Mandya, Karnataka. Thoughts and prayers with the bereaved families and with the injured.
I understand local authorities are making efforts to rescue and help affected passengers," the President tweeted.
"Deeply pained by the bus accident in Karnataka's Mandya.
My thoughts are with the families of the deceased.May God give them strength in this hour of sadness: PM @narendramodi,"the Prime Minister's Office said in a tweet.
"I'm sorry to hear about the terrible bus accident in Mandya district of Karnataka, in which over 20 people are feared dead & many others injured.
I extend my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased & pray for the speedy recovery of the injured," Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet.
Girish, a carpenter who was rescued, said he survived as he was lucky and knew swimming.
"I'm not sure what caused the accident, but it looks like it was the driver's fault. Fifteen people from my village and some of my relatives died," he said.
"There was no chance for anyone to survive.
I survived as I was sitting next to a window," he said.
Girish reportedly helped another survivor, Rohit, a school boy.
A case has been registered against the driver, police said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Broken relationships don't automatically amount to abetment of suicide: SC
New Delhi (PTI): Broken relationships, while emotionally distressing, do not automatically amount to abetment of suicide in the absence of intention leading to the criminal offence, the Supreme Court on Friday said.
The observations came from a bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Ujjal Bhuyan in a judgement, which overturned the conviction of one Kamaruddin Dastagir Sanadi by the Karnataka High Court for the offences of cheating and abetment of suicide under the IPC.
"This is a case of a broken relationship, not criminal conduct," the judgment said.
Sanadi was initially charged under Sections 417 (cheating), 306 (abetment of suicide), and 376 (rape) of the IPC.
While the trial court acquitted him of all the charges, the Karnataka High Court, on the state's appeal, convicted him of cheating and abetment of suicide, sentencing him to five years imprisonment and imposing Rs 25,000 in fine.
According to the FIR registered at the mother's instance, her 21-year-old daughter was in love with the accused for the past eight years and died by suicide in August, 2007, after he refused to keep his promise to marry.
Writing a 17-page judgement, Justice Mithal analysed the two dying declarations of the woman and noted that neither was there any allegation of a physical relationship between the couple nor there was any intentional act leading to the suicide.
The judgement therefore underlined broken relationships were emotionally distressing, but did not automatically amount to criminal offences.
"Even in cases where the victim dies by suicide, which may be as a result of cruelty meted out to her, the courts have always held that discord and differences in domestic life are quite common in society and that the commission of such an offence largely depends upon the mental state of the victim," said the apex court.
The court further said, "Surely, until and unless some guilty intention on the part of the accused is established, it is ordinarily not possible to convict him for an offence under Section 306 IPC.”
The judgement said there was no evidence to suggest that the man instigated or provoked the woman to die by suicide and underscored a mere refusal to marry, even after a long relationship, did not constitute abetment.
