Murud tragedy: Victims' parents allege negligence by college

Pune: Parents of some of the college students who died in the drowning tragedy at Murud-Janjira beach on Monday have alleged "negligence" on the part of the college authorities in the aftermath of the incident.

A condolence meet organized by the Abeda Inamdar College this morning saw the parents of the victims gherao P A Inamdar, president of the Maharashtra Cosmopolitan Education Society (MCES), the group that runs the college.

The parents alleged that they were pushed out unceremoniously by the college authorities when they tried to seek an explanation for their "negligence".

"I lost my daughter in the incident. On the tragic day, the college did not even notify me about the incident. It was us who bore the expenses of the ambulance vehicle in which my daughter's body was carried to the city. The college did nothing," Shakila Sayyad, mother of victim Safin Sayyad, said.

She further said, "No one from the institute was present in the hospital when the bodies were brought there after being fished out."

Narsimha Rao, relative of deceased student Rajlaxmi Pandugayala, alleged, "The parents and relatives who went to Inamdar to seek an explanation were ill-treated. We were unceremoniously pushed out of his office."

Heavy police deployment continued today at the college campus in order to avert any untoward incident.

Meanwhile, Savitribai Phule Pune University Vice-Chancellor W N Gade, who attended the condolence meet, said a detailed report would be sought from the college over the incident.

"We would see whether the guidelines laid down by the varsity regarding educational tours were followed during the picnic," he said.

He announced an aid of Rs 1 lakh to the victims' kin by the university.

"A high-level committee would be constituted to ascertain the details of the incident and that the bereaved families would be provided assistance," Inamdar told reporters after the condolence meet.