BENGALURU: Plans are under way to ensure that Bangalore University student and BMTC bus victim Shilpa Shree’s family is given Rs 1.5 crore compensation, following her untimely death. Students and staff have collectively been demanding that Shilpa’s family is assured of compensation from the government, university as well as the Social Welfare department, as Shilpa belonged to a Dalit family.
“We are demanding Rs 50 lakh each from the university, government and department. The university has assured us that this will be looked into during the next syndicate meeting on October 31,” said Lokesh Ram, vice-president of the BU Postgraduate and Research Scholars’ Association. This was confirmed by BU syndicate member Dr H Sudhakar, who said the issue was listed for Monday’s syndicate meeting.
The students had threatened to protest if their demands weren’t heard, on behalf of Shilpa’s family. Shilpa succumbed to her injuries on October 23, two weeks after she was run over by a BMTC bus on the university campus.
Following Friday’s meeting, BU registrar M Kotresh wrote a letter to the principal secretary of higher education, appealing for compensation to be given to the victim’s family from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. “It was disappointing that no government participation was involved in the meeting. However, we are hoping that her family will be given adequate compensation as well as a government job assured to one dependent in her family,” Lokesh said.