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Jaya claims DMK planned burning of bus

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalitha alleged on Saturday that the burning of the bus near Dharmapuri on Wednesday that claimed the lives of three girls, was "pre-planned" by the ruling DMK. She said the DMK had thus hoped to influence the results of the upcoming by-elections to three assembly seats on February 17.

Talking to journalists after submitting a memorandum urging Governor Justice M Fathima Beevi to direct the state government to seek a Central Bureau of Investigation investigation of the matter, she said she feared the incident would have an adverse impact on her party's prospects in the byelections.

Jayalalitha claimed that it was mysterious that a police van, which passed by when the bus was burning, made no effort to rescue the girls or put out the fire. A fire station situated very close to the scene of the incident also failed to respond, she charged.

A television camera crew owing allegiance to the ruling party was filming the whole incident but never made any attempt to rescue the girls. Even the district collector, who arrived at the scene, instead of assuaging the feelings, ordered a baton-charge, bursting of teargas shells and firing of buck shots to disperse the students, she alleged.

Jayalalitha said other television channels arrived at the scene very late.

All this showed that the torching of the bus was "orchestrated and pre-planned" to dampen the AIADMK's prospects, she alleged, adding that a CBI probe was the only way to find the truth.

UNI

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