JNU mishap kills 3 Bihar youths

Pic Credit: HT

New Delhi/ Patna: Three students of Korean studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University here were killed when their motorcycle skidded, hit a divider and rammed a tree inside the university campus in the early hours of Friday.

According to the police, the incident took place around 1-30 a.m. when the students were returning from Tapti Hostel inside the campus after a party with friends.

The students, identified as Ravi Shankar, Ravi Kumar and Santosh, were triple-riding and two of their friends were following them on another bike. Shankar, who was over-speeding, lost control over the vehicle, the police added.

Pradeep Topo, a guard who was on duty near the accident spot adjacent to JNU’s east gate, said: “Around 1-30 a.m., a guard deployed near Tapti Hostel informed me over phone that three students on a speeding bike were headed towards the east gate. Before I could go out and stop them, I heard a screeching noise. When I rushed out, I saw the bike crashing into a divider and then a tree. Everything happened in a split second and before I could realise anything, they were all lying in a pool of blood. I immediately called the university ambulance that took them to hospital.”

Shankar died on the spot. The others were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre where they succumbed to their injuries.

Explaining the sequence of events to the police, one of the students, who was following the victims, said: “Shankar was riding the bike, behind him was Santosh followed by Ravi Kumar. He lost control over the bike and it skidded. As the bike was at high speed, it dragged for around 25 feet before hitting a divider. 

Shankar’s head first hit the divider and then a tree. The other two also hit the divider. Since none of them were wearing helmets, they suffered grievous head injuries.”

A case under Section 279/304-A IPC has been registered at the Vasant Kunj (North) police station. The police are also probing if the two motorcycles were racing.

Shankar and Ravi Kumar hailed from Gaya while Santosh was from Hazaribagh. All three were final year students of Master’s in Korean Studies at the university.

Families of the victims arrived from their home towns on Friday morning and the bodies were handed over to them by evening following the post-mortem.

Credit: The Hindu