New Delhi: Action has been taken after the lives of six students were snuffed out when their school bus hit a tree and overturned in Haryana’s Mahendragarh on Thursday morning.
Dipti, principal of the private school, school secretary Hoshiyar Singh and bus driver Dharmendra have been arrested.
A police official said the medical test conducted on the driver confirmed presence of alcohol in his bloodstream. The driver allegedly jumped out of the bus just before it rammed into a tree.
Officials said fourteen of the students who were hospitalised after the accident have been discharged but three are critical.
Students from Class IV to X were heading to GL Public School on Thursday when their bus hit a tree and overturned.
Documents of the bus, which belonged to the school, revealed that fitness certificate had expired six years ago. A State Road Transport official has been suspended.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Mahendra Rana said in Hindi,
“A case has been registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and others. Sections of the Motor Vehicle Act have also been applied because the fitness certificate was not valid. The driver, Dharmendra, the principal, Dipti, and a staff member, Hoshiyar Singh, who was a secretary and looked after the buses and other such matters, have been arrested,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Mahendra Rana.
The state government is conducting an inquiry on why the school was open on Eid, which is a public holiday.
“The school should not have been open today. A showcause notice has been issued and, apart from that, we have taken self-affidavits from private schools. The schools will have to provide an affidavit stating that transport vehicles used by them are following the transport rules,” said State Education Minister Seema Trikha.
