Two die as college bus rams bike

Trichy: Two youths died after a private college bus driven in a rash manner collided with the motorcycle they were riding on near Thottiyam on the Trichy-Namakkal National Highway on Monday. The deceased were D Hariprasath, 19, an engineering student from Thottiyam, and P Lingeshwaran, 24, a daily wager from Sevanthipatti in Namakkal district.Sources said the duo was proceeding to attend a temple festival in Manamedu village with Lingeshwaran riding the motorcycle and Hariprasath on the pillion seat. While they were passing by a temple in Manamedu, they were hit by a bus of a private engineering college transporting students coming in the opposite direction. Police said the bus was driven in a rash and negligent manner as it collided with the motorcycle.Hariprasath lost his right leg in the crash and died on the spot. Lingeshwaran sustained severe injuries and was rushed to Musiri Government Hospital, where he succumbed to injuries. Thottiyam police recovered Hariprasath's body. They identified the bus driver as P Saravanan, 55, and seized the bus. A case was registered at Thottiyam police station later in the evening based on a complaint from Hariprasath's father P Dhanabal.The driver was booked under Sections 281 and 106(1) of BNS related to rash driving and causing death by negligence. The bodies were handed over to the respective family after autopsy. An investigation is currently in progress.