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Girl student mowed down by jeep in Kerala dies

The Onam celebrations at the College of Engineering at Trivandrum in Kerala have ended in a tragedy with a third year student, who was mowed down by a jeep driven by her college mate on Wednesday, succumbing to her injuries.
The deceased has been identified as Thesni Basheer, who hails from Vazhikkadavu near Nilambur in Malappuram district. The civil engineering student, who sustained grievous injuries in her head, was subjected to three surgeries on Thursday, but they did not help in saving her life. Thesni, 20, breathed her last at 11.55pm on Thursday.
After the post mortem on Friday morning, the body was kept at the college for students to pay homage to her. Later it was taken to her home town for burial. Thesni is the second student to die in a similar accident on the campus. In 2002, Amita Shankar, a second year student had been killed by a speeding bike inside the campus.
The college authorities had banned vehicles inside the campus in the aftermath of the accident. Defying the ban, the jeep involved in the accident entered the campus along with another jeep, a mini lorry and several motor cycles as part of the Onam celebrations. Thesni was going to the girl's hostel, nearly 100 metres away, when she was hit by the jeep which came from behind. She was soon rushed to a private hospital here where she remained in a critical state.
The Sreekaryam police, who are probing the incident, said the jeep carrying around 15 students was driven by a fourth year mechanical student identified as Baiju, hailing from Kannur. The police have registered a murder case against Baiju and 15 others.
However, no arrests have been made so far. The victim's family has alleged an attempt to hush up the matter. A member of the family said that the college authorities had informed the police only after Thesni's condition worsened. He alleged that the students were in an inebriated state.
The college authorities have suspended 12 students in connection with the incident and have cancelled the Onam celebrations this year. Most students living in the hostels have left for their homes leaving the campus deserted
Meanwhile, State Director General of Police Senkumar has blamed new generation films like Premam for incidents like this. He told reporters here on Friday that the students in most campuses were trying to emulate the heroes and heroines in these films.

• India