Fearing for her safety, family refused to buy her two-wheeler

BENGALURU: Janardhan, father of Arpitha, 19, who was mowed down by a speeding oil tanker, was not told about her death for hours. For, everyone was worried how the farmer from Tumakuru district, who had set up a home in Devanahalli keeping in mind Arpitha’s future, would take the news.
While he lived alone in Tumakuru, his wife, Kalavathi, lived with Arpitha and their 13-year-old son, Akshay, in a rented accommodation in Devanahalli. Akshay studies in class IX at the Sindhi School, Kempapura Agrahara. Her uncle, G Chandranna, a former MLA of Devanahalli, was shattered. He said a tragedy they were trying to avoid finally caught up with the girl.
“Arpitha wanted a two-wheeler. But we didn’t buy it for her fearing the traffic on the busy Ballari Road. But see her fate. She was crossing the same Ballari Road to catch a BMTC bus, which we thought would be safe for her, when she was killed,” he rued. On Thursday, after the classes ended at 11.30 am, Arpitha, a second year BCom student of Sindhi College, decided to stay back for a national seminar on “Global workplace 2020”. Sometime after noon, Arpitha left with her juniors, I PU students Kusmuashree J and Akshatha R, who had finished the accountancy final examination. On seeing the green signal, they began crossing the Ballari Road. Kusumashree and Akshatha, who were a couple of steps ahead, had almost crossed a half of the road when a speeding oil tanker brushed against them.
But Arpitha was not as lucky and was run over by the tanker. Kusumashree and Akshatha were rushed to Colombia Asia Hospital nearby. Kusumashree sustained severe injuries on the back and her right leg, while Akshatha, who had minor injuries, has been discharged. Akshatha’s father, V Ramakrishna, a marketing executive, was at work when he heard about the accident. “Arpitha, Akshatha and Kusumashree were friends. My daughter and Kusumashree were lucky to survive,” he said. Sindhi PU College principal Pallavi Vinod described Arpitha as a bright student. The college has declared a holiday on Friday to mourn its student.: Janardhan, father of Arpitha, 19, who was mowed down by a speeding oil tanker, was not told about her death for hours. For, everyone was worried how the farmer from Tumakuru district, who had set up a home in Devanahalli keeping in mind Arpitha’s future, would take the news. While he lived alone in Tumakuru, his wife, Kalavathi, lived with Arpitha and their 13-year-old son, Akshay, in a rented accommodation in Devanahalli. Akshay studies in class IX at the Sindhi School, Kempapura Agrahara.
Her uncle, G Chandranna, a former MLA of Devanahalli, was shattered. He said a tragedy they were trying to avoid finally caught up with the girl. “Arpitha wanted a two-wheeler. But we didn’t buy it for her fearing the traffic on the busy Ballari Road. But see her fate. She was crossing the same Ballari Road to catch a BMTC bus, which we thought would be safe for her, when she was killed,” he rued. On Thursday, after the classes ended at 11.30 am, Arpitha, a second year BCom student of Sindhi College, decided to stay back for a national seminar on “Global workplace 2020”. Sometime after noon, Arpitha left with her juniors, I PU students Kusmuashree J and Akshatha R, who had finished the accountancy final examination. On seeing the green signal, they began crossing the Ballari Road. Kusumashree and Akshatha, who were a couple of steps ahead, had almost crossed a half of the road when a speeding oil tanker brushed against them. But Arpitha was not as lucky and was run over by the tanker. Kusumashree and Akshatha were rushed to Colombia Asia Hospital nearby. Kusumashree sustained severe injuries on the back and her right leg, while Akshatha, who had minor injuries, has been discharged. Akshatha’s father, V Ramakrishna, a marketing executive, was at work when he heard about the accident. “Arpitha, Akshatha and Kusumashree were friends. My daughter and Kusumashree were lucky to survive,” he said. Sindhi PU College principal Pallavi Vinod described Arpitha as a bright student. The college has declared a holiday on Friday to mourn its student.