70 students from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University were returning from a study tour . Students were separated into two buses based on sex . Mid-journey , they learnt of J. Jayalalitha 's conviction in the Pleasant Stay hotel case . Latha , one of the lecturers accompanying the students , called the Vice Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University who recommended they go to a safe place and return to Coimbatore when deemed safe . They attempted to drive to the District Collector 's office . However they could not reach it due to traffic obstruction by AIADMK party men , led by Dharmapuri union secretary D.K. Rajendran , in violation of prohibitory orders . AIADMK party workers threw petrol bombs inside the bus that held 44 girls and 2 lecturers . The front of the bus caught fire and the flames spread backward . As the back door was locked and the keys were unavailable , lecturers Latha , Akila , and some students left the other bus and broke the backdoor to pull out the girls . The fire spread fast . Three girls , Hemalatha from Chennai , V. Gayathri from Virudhachalam and Kokilavani from Namakkal were burned to death , while 16 others were injured . Bus burning scenes were captured and broadcast the following day on Sun TV
Pleasant Stay hotel case
Pleasant Stay hotel case
2000 Dharmapuri bus burning