Notice to Haryana school for functioning on Eid after 6 students killed in accident

Notice to Haryana school for functioning on Eid after 6 students killed in accident

Six children were killed and around 20 injured after their school bus overturned in Haryana’s Mahendragarh on Thursday. The police have arrested three people, including the school’s principal, and a show-cause notice has been issued to the private school to explain why it was open despite it being a holiday on account of Eid.

WHAT HAPPENED

The accident happened near Unhani village in Kanina around 8.30 am on Thursday. The bus was carrying around 40 children to the G L Public School when it crashed into a tree and overturned.

The driver, Dharmender, has been arrested. He was allegedly rash driving and according to some eyewitnesses, he appeared to be drunk.

Besides Dharmender, the police arrested two other people, including the school’s principal Deepti and one more school official, Hoshiar Singh.

The fitness certificate of the bus had expired in 2018. The police said an investigation into the cause of the accident was on.

“We will investigate why the school was open even on a holiday. The driver has been arrested and a medical test will be conducted on him,” Kanina Deputy Superintendent of Police Mahendra Singh said.

Assistant Secretary of RTA Mahendragarh at Naranul Pradeep Kumar has been suspended with immediate effect.

Many people gathered at the accident site following the accident.

SCHOOL WAS OPEN ON EID

Haryana Education Minister Seema Trikha, who visited the injured students at hospitals, said a show-cause notice has been issued to the school to explain why it was open despite it being a holiday on account of Eid.

Mahendragarh Deputy Commissioner Monika Gupta said the district education officer sent a proposal to the state government for cancelling the school’s recognition as it was functioning on a gazetted holiday.

Transport Minister Aseem Goel said an FIR has been lodged and the state government has ordered a probe into the incident. He also directed officials to check the fitness of all school buses.

The school authorities had been informed about the bus driver’s drinking habit, news agency PTI reported. Some parents brought it to the school’s notice even on Thursday that Dharmender was under the influence of alcohol.

The Additional Transport Commissioner (Road Safety) has been directed to conduct a detailed inquiry into the reasons for the accident and find out those responsible, PTI quoted officials as saying.

A doctor, as quoted by PTI, said 20 injured children were brought to the hospital. He said that four of them were brought dead and one, who was put on ventilator support, succumbed to injuries.

After preliminary treatment, the injured students were taken to government hospitals and other centres including in the adjoining Rewari district.

PM MODI, OTHER LEADERS CONDOLE ACCIDENT

In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the incident “extremely painful”.

“The bus accident in Mahendragarh, Haryana is extremely painful. My condolences are with all the families who have lost their children in this accident. Along with this, I wish for the speedy recovery of all the injured children,” he wrote in Hindi on X.

“Under the supervision of the state government, the local administration is engaged in providing all possible help to the victims and their families,” he said.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini tweeted, “I am saddened by the school bus accident in Kanina, Mahendragarh. My condolences are with the bereaved families who have lost their innocent children. The local administration is ready to help the injured. I wish all the injured a speedy recovery.”

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