Student run over by truck

Pooja was in the final year of MCA at Mount Carmel College

Police said, Pooja Salgaonkar (20), left for college on her two-wheeler and on the way, the truck, coming from behind, hit her vehicle. The impact was so serious that she was thrown off her vehicle, which, in turn, hit a bike moving in the front. The biker fell on the left side of the road, while the girl came under the wheels of the truck. The bike broke into pieces, with the handle piercing into her stomach.

Onlookers caught the driver of the sand-laden truck, Srirangaiah, a native of Yaleramapura colony in Madhugiri taluk. After bashing him up, they handed him over to the police. The Yelahanka traffic police registered a case of homicide not amounting to murder against him.

College shocked
While Pooja’s parents were inconsolable, her collegemates and teachers were in a state of shock on hearing about the incident. The college declared a holiday and put off exams for junior MCA classes. Some of her friends and teachers visited Pooja’s home to console the bereaved family. Regina, Head of the Department of Computer Science, MCC, said Pooja’s parents were heart-broken.

“Pooja was a very bright student who participated in all activities of the college. She was the secretary of the recent college fest and ensured the event went off smoothly. She was very humble by nature,” she said.

Pooja is survived by her parents and an younger brother. Her father Arun Salgaonkar, an employee of MSIL, is a native of Karwar who came to Yelahanka New Town, a few years ago. Her mother is a housewife, while her brother is a II PU student.