Hoskote accident: 'Joyride' set out secretly claims lives of six school students
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Bengaluru (PTI): What began as an early morning "joyride" in an SUV ended in tragedy, claiming the lives of seven people, including six school students, who had set out secretly without informing their families, police said on Saturday.
The multi-vehicle pile-up occurred early Friday morning near M Satyavara on the Hoskote-Dabaspet Highway in Bengaluru Rural district, they said.
According to police, six students set out in an SUV for a "joyride". The SUV car allegedly being driven by one of the students, Ayan Ali, reportedly at 150-160 kmph was en route from Hoskote towards Devanahalli when it allegedly struck a motorcycle from behind.
Ali took his father's car without parents knowledge, police said.
The driver of the SUV allegedly lost control after the initial impact and crashed into a canter vehicle. Another car was also drawn into the wreckage, resulting in a severe pile-up.
Six occupants of the SUV and the motorcycle rider identified as 26-year-old Gagan, a resident of Devanahalli, died on the spot, police said.
The impact of the accident flung the two-wheeler rider off the vehicle, and he hit the metal side crash barrier with extreme force, leading to his death.
The other deceased were identified as Ahram Sharif (16), Ashvin Nayar, Eethan George, Ayan Ali, Bharath - all 17 years old; Mohammed Farhan Shaik (18), students of class 10 and 12.
Around 11 am on Friday, grieving parents gathered at MVJ Hospital near Hoskote, struggling to come to terms with the fact that their children had died in the accident.
Devastating scenes unfolded at the mortuary as the families of the students broke down when police asked them to identify bodies.
Many were in shock, unable to accept the news conveyed to them by the police as most of the families were unaware of their children's "joyride" and believed they were sleeping in their rooms at home.
Sharif's uncle, Baba Jaan, told reporters that Sharif didn't even know how to ride a two-wheeler.
Gagan's family said he was working at a private company and was the sole provider and the "eyes" of his visually impaired mother. Upon hearing the news of the death of her only son and anchor, the mother was inconsolable.
According to his family, Gagan was on his way home after finishing his night shift when the accident occurred. He would leave for work at 5 pm and return around 3 am.
"We got to know about the accident at around 6 am on Friday. He was the only child of his parents. His mother is partially visibly challenged. He has been running the family since his father's demise," Gagan's uncle told reporters here.
Police said further investigation is underway.
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Woman declared foreigner gets Indian citizenship under CAA
Guwahati (PTI): A woman, who spent two years in detention after being declared a foreigner, has been granted Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Assam's Cachar district, her lawyer said.
The woman, identified as 59-year-old Depali Das, a resident of the Hawaithang area under the Dholai assembly constituency, was declared an illegal migrant by a Foreigners' Tribunal (FT) in February 2019.
Depali is the first declared foreigner in Assam who had once been lodged in a detention centre and later released on bail to receive Indian citizenship under the CAA.
The police detained her after the tribunal's order and sent her to the Silchar detention centre on May 10, the same year, where she remained for nearly two years before being released on bail on May 17, 2021, following a Supreme Court order, her lawyer Dharmananda Deb said.
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Depali was originally a resident of Dippur village under Dhirai police station in Bangladesh's Sylhet district and had married Abhimanyu Das of Parai village under Baniachong police station in Habiganj district in 1987, he said.
A year later, in 1988, the couple entered India and moved to Cachar district, where they have been living since then.
Her citizenship came under scrutiny in 2013 when police initiated an inquiry against her, and a chargesheet was submitted by the police on July 2, 2013, stating that Depali was a resident of Baniachong in Bangladesh and had entered India illegally after March 1971, Deb said.
"The chargesheet later proved crucial in her application for Indian citizenship under the CAA because the applicant must provide documentary evidence showing migration from Bangladesh, Pakistan or Afghanistan," he said.
"In most cases, applicants fail to produce such documents, but in Depali's case, the chargesheet submitted by the police officer in 2013 clearly mentioned that she was from Bangladesh. The authorities accepted this document as valid proof," he added.
After her release on bail in 2021, she wanted to apply for citizenship under the CAA and had approached Deb for legal assistance once the rules of the Act were notified in 2024.
Her first hearing took place on February 24 last year at the office of the Superintendent of Post Offices in Silchar, which is designated to process such applications.
Two more hearings were held subsequently, after which all her documents were submitted online to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
"She was called to the office of the Superintendent of Post Offices in Silchar for a final appearance on May 25 last year after the field verification by Home Ministry officials, and on March 6, she received her Indian citizenship certificate," social activist Kamal Chakraborty said.
Her three children, a son and three daughters, can now rely on their mother's citizenship certificate if their own citizenship is ever questioned in the future, since all the children were born in India, he added.
The Citizenship Amendment Act, passed by Parliament on December 11, 2019, triggered widespread protests across the country, particularly in Assam.
The Act allows Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain and Parsi migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who entered India between March 25, 1971 and December 31, 2014 to apply for Indian citizenship.
Before Das, four Bangladeshi nationals living in Assam were granted Indian citizenship under the CAA.
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