Mysuru: In a tragic incident, a 14-year-old school boy lost his left foot when one of the wheels of the city bus he was trying to board yesterday crushed his foot when he fell off the bus. It is alleged that the accident occurred because of the negligence of the bus conductor and the driver.

The boy has been identified as Ullekh Puttaswamy, a Class 9 student of Sadvidya High School and a resident of Bannur. He is the younger son of Puttaswamy, a cable operator in Bannur.

According to Puttaswamy, his son’s routine was to take a KSRTC bus from the bus station after his school. “On Monday my son was to take a bus to reach Bannur and he reached Platform No. 1 of the bus stand around 4.30 pm. He tried to catch a bus (KA-09-F-5277). Even as he was trying to board, the conductor, who noticed that the boys were pass-holders, asked the bus driver to move and shut the doors of the bus. Ullekh fell and his left leg got stuck under the rear wheel of the bus,” he said.  

“People around shouted the driver to stop, but he did not and my son’s leg was crushed. He was rushed to Anagha Hospital near Agrahara where doctors have amputated nearly one-and-a-half feet of his leg. He is a brilliant student, and wanted to be an IPS officer,” Puttaswamy said.

According to Ullekh, KSRTC drivers and conductors refuse to accommodate students as they are pass holders. “On Monday too, the conductor closed the bus doors as their usual practice that resulted in the accident,” he said.

KSRTC officials, however, denied charges that the boy was pushed off the bus by the conductor. Ullekh was not pushed off the bus but fell unable to enter it. This was also checked from the records of the Intelligent Transport System,” an official said.

The KSRTC has ordered a departmental inquiry into the incident. Ullekh’s parents have lodged a Police complaint at the Devaraja Police Station against the driver and conductor of the bus, holding them responsible for their son’s accident. Had the driver and conductor behaved responsibly by permitting him to enter the bus, he wouldn’t have lost his foot, the parents contend.

On the instructions of the KSRTC Managing Director, the boy’s medical expenses will be borne by the KSRTC considering it as a “special case.”

Disciplinary action

Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, Transport Minister H.M. Revanna asked the KSRTC MD to take disciplinary action against the driver and conductor of the bus, and to bear the hospital expenditure. He has also asked the MD to probe the incident and submit a report.

He had a valid pass

Ullekh Puttaswamy had a valid KSRTC bus pass and despite this he was refused entry into the bus by the conductor. His parents and school authorities said that Ullekh had paid Rs. 740 (the cost of distance from his school to Bannur) at his school for the pass that was forwarded to the KSRTC through his school. The KSRTC had issued the pass after receiving the payment.

KSRTC authorities said that bus passes could be obtained at respective schools now. “Earlier, students had to stand in a queue at City Bus Stand. To avoid this, we distribute passes for needy students at school-level itself. School authorities collect the money and photos of students along with other details and submit the same to us and we issue the passes,” a KSRTC Officer said.