GURGAON: An allegedly
drunk driver
taking 37 students to school lost control of the bus, leading to an accident in which six teenagers - all boys - died and 21 were injured at
Mahendergarh
Thursday.
The bus overturned after hitting a tree as the driver tried to overtake a truck at a bend near Kanina Women's College in the south Haryana district at 8.30 am. Dharmendra, the driver who managed to jump off and save himself, was arrested later along with the principal and secretary of
GL Public School
, to which the bus was attached.
The bus had no attendant.
Drunk driver arrested after crash, school bus lacked fitness certificate
Minutes before the accident, locals said they had spotted the bus moving in a zigzag manner on the road. The accident took place 6km from the village. Police said four students died by the time they were wheeled into the emergency ward of a private hospital in Rewari, the neighbouring district. Two succumbed to injuries during treatment. Nineteen were admitted to various private hospitals while two were referred to PGI Rohtak after their condition deteriorated.
The students who died were Satyam Sharma of Class 12, Yuvraj and Vansh of Class 9, Yashu and Ricky, both Class 8, and Anshu, Class 10.
State education minister Seema Trikha visited the injured students in hospital. “We have to find out why the school was open on a public holiday. Action will be taken against the bus driver, school principal and secretary,” she told TOI.
SP Arsh Verma said a medical test confirmed that the driver was drunk. “We have arrested him along with principal Deepti Vasi Kanina and secretary Hoshiar Singh Vasi. They have been booked under sections 304, 336, 337, 279, 109 and 120B of IPC.”
Documents sourced from transport department show gross violations. The bus owner hadn’t renewed its fitness certificate since it expired on Aug 23, 2018. Its insurance, too, had lapsed on Aug 30, 2017. Road tax for the bus hadn’t been paid since 2017. “The bus lacked window grilles, mandatory for vehicles transporting students. It did not have a first aid box, nor did it have important contact numbers that a bus must carry,” an officer said.
Deputy commissioner Monika Gupta said she had written to the CM and education department for cancellation of the school’s affiliation. Later in the evening, Pradeep Kumar, assistant secretary at the RTO, was suspended for lack of vigil, which allowed the school bus to operate without any valid papers for years.
Meanwhile, PM Modi and Prez Murmu expressed their condolences.
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