Six students, aged between 13-17 years, were killed and 28 sustained injuries when a private school bus ferrying them hit a tree and overturned in Haryana’s Mahendragarh district, around 100 km south-west of Delhi.
The police said the incident occurred on Thursday when bus driver Dharmender, driving under the influence of alcohol, tried to overtake another vehicle. He was arrested along with school principal Deepti and secretary Hoshiar Singh.
Soon after the tragic news broke out in the morning amid Id-ul-fitr celebrations, condolence messages poured in from across the country with President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing shock and pain over the “heart-rending” news and praying for the quick recovery of the injured. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said he was hurt by the tragedy and assured strict action against the culprits after a probe.
According to the FIR, the driver was speeding despite the students asking him to slow down. The vehicle overturned and hit a tree, causing the death of a few students on the spot, and injuries to many others. Soon after the accident, the locals alerted the police control room and shifted a few injured students to nearby hospitals in private vehicles even before ambulance and the police reached the spot.
Complainant in the case, Anuj, a Class 12 student, said a few minutes before the accident, the parents at Kheri Talwana village had snatched the ignition key of the bus from the driver after they found him drunk and called up the school authorities, but the parents were threatened with dire consequences and told to return the keys.
The vehicle involved in the accident was also plying without the mandatory fitness certificate and in violations of the guidelines of Punjab and Haryana High Court and Supreme Court with regard to school transport following which the police added certain sections of the Motor Vehicles Act to the FIR.
Transport Commissioner Yashendra Singh told The Hindu that the Assistant Secretary, Regional Transport Authority, was suspended and a detailed investigation by Additional Transport Commissioner (Road Safety) was instituted into the matter. “The RTA Mahendragarh had issued a challan last year to the school bus for plying without the mandatory fitness certificate, but failed to ensure compliance. The investigation report into the accident would be submitted in a couple of days pointing out the reasons of the mishap and fixing the responsibility of the officials concerned,” said Mr. Singh.
Deputy Commissioner Monika Gupta said the school was being run in violation of the government directions to observe a holiday on account of Id-ul-fitr and a recommendation to the education department was made to cancel its affiliation.
The bus driver and school authorities were arrested on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and criminal conspiracy, among others, under the Indian Penal Code, said Mohinder Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Kanina.
