Student falls out of moving school bus, driver flees

LUDHIANA: A 12-year-old student of Sacred Heart Convent Senior Secondary School, Jamalpur, suffered injuries when he fell out of the moving school bus near Samrala Chowk. This happened around 3pm when the students were being dropped back home. According to information, no conductor was present in the vehicle at the time which was in clear violation of safety norms and the school vahan scheme.An eyewitness said that the bus was overcrowded. "The vehicle can accommodate maximum 30 passengers but the number of students was almost double. I was behind the bus and saw the child fall off."
"Even after the student fell off, the driver had no clue about it till the passengers started to shout at him to stop the bus. I found the child unconscious and pulled out the school diary from the bag, then phoned his father and the police control room," he said.
The eyewitness said that the bus driver ran away from the accident site. The injured boy's father S S Gill said, "My son was injured on his head and foot. This is pure negligence by the school and the driver. I shall demand an explanation from the school. Authorities play with lives of children and must be acted upon sternly." While cops impounded the bus, another school bus dropped the students home.
President of parents association Rajinder Ghai said: "I was driving nearby and noticed the overcrowded school bus encircled by a crowd. This is a horrible incident and schools are flaunting safety norms. Administration and the district transport office must act at once to curb this menace." "Further, the school bus carried no signboard displaying the school's name and had no first aid kit on board," he remarked.
DTO to propose action against principal
According to Punjab and Haryana high court instructions, principals would be held accountable if the norms are violated. When contacted, district transport officer (DTO) Anil Garg said, "If school buses do not have school names, contact numbers mentioned on them, this is a clear violation of the safe school vahan scheme. I shall propose action against the principal."