Kerala: Elderly woman injured in bus accident, staff negligence exposed

PATHANAMTHITTA: A complaint has been filed that private bus staff members fled after dropping off an elderly woman, who fell inside a bus, on the road in front of the hospital. It was the Madappally bus staff members operating on the Chengannur-Pathanamthitta route who abandoned widow Omana Vijayan (71).

The accident took place near Elanthur on Sunday afternoon at around 2 pm. Omana and another woman boarded the bus to Pathanamthitta from a stop near C Kesavan Square in Kozhenchery. The bus, which was speeding, applied excessive brakes between Thekkamalai and Elanthur, causing Omana to fall inside the bus.Her left hand was injured in the fall, but the bus staff refused to stop. Finally, when other passengers raised an alarm, the bus stopped at the Pathanamthitta General Hospital and let Omana off. When Omana reached the hospital, she was examined and found to have a fracture below the palm of her left hand. Omana filed a complaint with the Aranmula police.