Transport Minister enquires health of boy who lost both legs in mishap

Mysuru: Transport Minister H.M. Revanna, who was in city yesterday to participate in a programme, visited a private hospital here where 14-year-old Ullekh Puttaswamy is undergoing treatment after a KSRTC bus crushed both his legs due to the alleged negligence on the part of the conductor and the driver and provided Rs. 1.10 lakh towards the cost of the treatment. Speaking to press persons, Minister H.M. Revanna said that the KSRTC staff responsible for the incident has been suspended and assured that the State Government would take care of complete hospital expenses and his education. Ullekh Puttaswamy, a Class 9 student of Sadvidya High School in city and a resident of Bannur, is the younger son of Puttaswamy, a cable operator in Bannur. Ullekh lost his legs when one of the wheels of the city bus he was trying to board on Oct.24 crushed his legs when he fell off the bus. It is alleged that the conductor refused to allow him to board the bus as he was a ‘bus pass’ holder resulting in Ullekh slipping from the bus. Ullekh’s parents had lodged a Police complaint at the Devaraja Police Station against the driver and conductor of the bus, holding them responsible for their son’s accident. Had the driver and conductor behaved responsibly by permitting him to enter the bus, he wouldn’t have lost his legs, the parents had contended.