Four IIT-Delhi students killed in accident in Jaisalmer

 

Jaisalmer/New Delhi: Four IIT-Delhi final-year students, who were on a road trip to west Rajasthan to celebrate their placements, were killed and two other students injured when the Innova they were travelling in overturned near Jaisalmer on Sunday morning.

The students were returning after camping out at Sam and were 5km from Jaisalmer when one of the tyres burst, resulting in the vehicle rolling over several times. While three students died on the spot, another succumbed to injuries in hospital. The Innova driver and two students — a girl and a boy — were being treated at MDM hospital in Jodhpur and were reported to be stable.

The deceased have been identified as Pallav Aggarwal from Chattisgarh, Bihar resident Archana Mandal, Diksha Gautam from Delhi and Mayank Goel.

"The six were travelling in an Innova hired from a travel agency. The driver could not control the vehicle after a tyre burst. Archana came from Gudiya Bakibaka in Bihar and Diksha from Yamuna Vihar in Delhi. Pallav hailed from Koria village in Chattisgarh's Mahendragarh district," said Kotwali police station in-charge Jetha Ram.

The IIT Delhi campus was in shock and disbelief on Sunday evening, as students and teachers gathered on the campus to remember those who died. "All six students had been placed in good firms. They were very excited about it and wanted to celebrate. No one would have imagined it would turn out this way," said a friend of Archana, a student of electrical engineering.

"Archana was a high-spirited and a very friendly girl. She used to represent IIT at inter-colleges sports meets. Archana and Diksha were room-mates. Diksha had been placed by Goldman Sachs and they were both very excited. Earlier, this month they had gone on a trip to Goa. I cannot believe that they are no more with us," the friend added.

The two injured students are expected to be brought to the capital by Monday afternoon. The bodies are also likely to reach the campus by Monday afternoon.

"We are ensuring that the bodies are brought here by Monday afternoon so that they can soon be handed over to the families, who have been informed about the accident. Most of them are on their way," said Rakesh Kumar, IIT registrar.

With barely two months left for the dual degree holders to complete their course and most of them being placed already, this is usually a time for celebration for final-year students. On Sunday, the first floor of Kailash Hostel where two of the deceased girls' lived, wore a deserted look as most final-year students were out.MD NAUSHAD ALAM