Police find ganja in students' crashed car

The driver had licence; Boys had taken parents’ permission

The Bangalore rural district police investigating the accident near Hoskote, in which three city students were killed and another injured, have found a specific quantity of ganja from the dash board of the mangled remains of the car.

R Kumaraswamy, additional SP Bangalore district, told Deccan Herald: “We are not sure if the youths had consumed the seized material. We are awaiting the chemical analysis and post mortem reports from the forensic sciences laboratory.”

“I have seen many cases in which young lives have been lost due to overspeeding on highways at odd hours. I am unable to understand what thrill such dangerous ventures give them. Mostly children from affluent families are involved in such accidents,” the officer said.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the truck involved in the accident developed some technical snag and the driver was forced to stop the vehicle. The boy, who was at the wheel, failed to notice the parked truck.

Since he was driving at high speed, he couldn't stop the car in time. The car rammed into the parked truck. The car driver had a valid licence, the officer added.

Meanwhile, Raoul Peters (18), the sole survivor in the accident, is still in an unconscious state at a surgical ICU ward at St John’s Hospital.

He is on ventilator and doctors at the hospital are keeping a close watch on him.

Raoul’s father, Peters, refused to speak to the media. Raoul is studying commerce at the Christ University.

The friends and lecturers of Kiran, one of the accident victims, had a lot of good things to say about him. Christ Junior College had organised a special prayer in memory of Kiran. Father Biju of Christ Junior College said that he was a bright and obedient student.

Parents of the victims said all the boys had taken permission before setting out on the drive.

Relatives of Kiran Joseph was upset with some media reports that the boys had ventured out without permission from their parents.

Kiran’s uncle recalled that he was a soft spoken child and was very helpful at home. He loved playing football and was good at studies. Kiran was passionate about technology and wanted to be an engineer.

Relatives of the victims stated that reports about the boys going out without informing anyone had added to the grief of the parents.

Those who witnessed the scene of the accident said the truck was near the median and not by the roadside. It did not even have reflectors, they said.

“When it was clearly the fault of the truck driver, why are the boys being blamed and why is not anyone looking at how road rules are flouted,” questioned Kiran’s uncle.

He added that Aslan, who was driving the vehicle, had a valid driver’s licence and he had taken out the car after taking permission from his parents.