Student, banker killed as bikes collide in CB Pur

Protest over delayed medical assistance turns violent

Two youths were killed when the motorcycles they were riding collided head-on near Anakur gate on Shidlaghatta Road in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

Rakesh (19) of Ajjavara died on the spot, while the other biker, Ananthram (25), a resident of Prashanthnagar and an employee of Pragati Grameena Bank, died on the way to hospital in Bangalore.

In the meantime, residents of the village, who arrived at the spot, staged a protest against the alleged negligence and delay on the part of health officials in sending an ambulance.

They besieged the district hospital and attacked a few doctors and medical staff.

They also threw stones at a police van, attacking police officer Venkatesh, accusing the district armed reserve personnel of assaulting Rakesh’s father. A tense atmosphere prevailed at the district hospital throughout the day.

It was a tough task to bring the situation under control, despite repeated requests from police personnel and JD(S) district unit president K V Nagaraj. MLA K Sudhakar later arrived at the hospital and tried to calm the enraged mob.

Rakesh was travelling to Bangalore from Ajjavara while Ananthram was set to go to Shidlaghatta from Chikkaballapur.

At around 5.45 in the morning, their motorbikes collided head-on. Rakesh, who was grievously injured, died on the spot. Ananthram, who was also severely injured could not be shifted to the hospital immediately as the ambulance did not arrive in time.

Protest at hospital

When Rakesh was finally taken to the hospital, the crowd that had shifted him there was enraged as they thought the hospital was being lax in its duty of providing treatment to the patient. When they began to assault the hospital staff, the district armed reserve police personnel arrived and tried to bring the situation under control, witnesses told Deccan Herald.

They then began to attack police officer Venkatesh, accusing him of having manhandled Rakesh’s grieving father, Narayanaswamy.

They demanded that action be taken against him and they threw stones at the police van parked at the hospital premises. They said they would not vacate the place until he was suspended.

Sudhakar said, “We are aware of the poor quality of district hospital. We have brought it to the notice of the government several times. I will inform Health minister U T Khader of today’s mishap.”

The legislator assured them of improving the quality of the hospital soon. Before dispersing, the mob warned the legislator of an imminent violent protest if promises are not fulfilled.