Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Feb 6: In a heart-wrenching incident near the Nanthoor bus stand on Wednesday night, Deepti (24) lost her life after a bus collided with the scooter she was riding. Adding to the tragedy, her mother was travelling in the same bus that struck the scooter.
Deepti was the eldest among five daughters of Shalini, a civic worker with the Mangaluru City Corporation. The grief-stricken cries of Deepti’s younger sisters, who lost a loving and caring elder sister, have left the area in deep sorrow.
The family resides at Vivekanagar in Ballalbagh, Mangaluru. Deepti’s father, Mahesh, who was also a civic worker with the corporation, passed away a few years ago. Following his death, Shalini was appointed to the post on compassionate grounds. Since then, she has been working tirelessly to raise her five daughters, ensuring they face no hardship and receive proper education.
Deepti had completed her BCom degree from a private college in the city and was working temporarily as an LIC agent. Among her sisters, one is pursuing BEd, another is studying PUC, while the remaining two are school-going children.
Shalini, who had already lost her husband, had dreamt of educating her daughters well and seeing them rise to respectable positions in life.
On the fateful night, Deepti was travelling on a scooter along with Kishore to attend a programme near Thiruvailu in Vamanjoor. Shockingly, Deepti’s mother and her sisters were travelling in the very bus that collided with the scooter. The sight of losing her daughter before her eyes left the mother inconsolable. She has appealed to the district administration, stating that no other mother should ever have to endure such pain.
Condemning the incident in which the young woman lost her life, leaders of Dalit organisations staged a brief protest outside the Kadri police station on Thursday, demanding action against those responsible and seeking justice for the bereaved family.
Responding to the incident, city police commissioner Sushi Kumar Reddy stated that a case has already been registered against the bus driver, who has been taken into custody, and further legal action will be initiated. He added that staging protests in this regard is also not appropriate. He noted that six to seven accident cases have already occurred this year, and assured that all cases would be treated equally to ensure the accused are punished as per law.