A 13-year-old girl was fatally knocked down by a speeding private college bus at Kethureddypatty in Kadathur on Monday.
Police identified the victim as Nithya, daughter of Prabhu, a local grocer. The incident occurred when her father was riding her back home on a cycle along with a 10-year-old boy Sabhari, who was riding pillion on Nithya's cycle. They were riding along the narrow road, when the college bus knocked them down. Nithya died on the spot, while Sabhari was seriously injured. He was rushed to the Dharmapuri Government Medical College hospital, from where he was taken to a private hospital in Salem.
The children were studying in a government school at Kadagathur. The accident triggered prortests. The relatives of the victims and the locals staged a road blockade.
The protesters also demanded that the site of the accident was a narrow road, which was also one of the reasons for the accident. Following this, Sub-Collector Sivan Arul, Harur, Deputy Superintendent of Police Sellapandian arrived at the spot and assured the protesters that their demands would be taken up.
A case has been registered and the police are on the lookout for the driver of the college bus, who absconded from the spot.