Sand-laden truck kills college student, sparks mob frenzy

CHENNAI: Locals vandalized and ransacked at least seven sand-laden trucks after one of the vehicles knocked down the bicycle of a 19-year-old student riding to a railway station for a suburban train to Chellammal College in Kodambakkam, killing her instantaneously, in Urapakkkam on Monday morning.
Police said R Saranya, a resident of Aadhanur Perumal Koil Street in Urapakkam, was heading to the Urapakkam railway station at 7.30am when a truck took a sharp turn from the Tiruchi-Chennai National Highway and hit her bicycle.
Residents and motorists passing by turned violent and damaged the truck. When a few other trucks plying the same route passed by, their crews faced the wrath of the violent protesters. The crowd attacked their vehicles as well, a police officer said.
“Fearing the mob, the truck drivers abandoned their vehicles and fled,” he said. “Residents of localities nearby were apprehenseive about the danger posed by speeding trucks carrying sand from the Mannivakkam lake near Kancheepuram via residential areas near Urapakkkam.”
The locals said they were frustrated that no action had been taken against them, police said. They made repeated complaints about rash and negligent driving by sand truck drivers in the area, but to no avail, the residents said, adding that they were frustrated that police officers and others did not take their complaints seriously.
Monday morning’s accident sparked off their outrage.
It was the second time a fatal accident triggered public fury in less than two days. Angry residents on Saturday attacked a garbage truck after it hit a bike and killed the rider, Kesavan, 25, in Kodungaiyur.
Police registered a case under IPC Section 304 (a) (death caused due to negligent driving) and arrested the truck driver. Police personnel sent the girl’s body for autopsy.