New Delhi: Concerned over the safety of school going kids, the Delhi government has banned the use of private vans for ferrying young students to their schools.
This comes just 2 days after a three-year-old boy was run over by a van which used to ferry school students.
This was announced by Delhi Transport Minister Satyendar Jain after TV reports claimed that private cab owners were openly flouting rules across the national capital.
On Tuesday, a three-and-half year old school boy in Delhi was crushed to death by his school van when he was being dropped home in North Delhi's Civil Lines.
The incident took place shortly after Aviral Rana was dropped home by his school cab.
The child was returning home from his preparatory school in Tis Hazari, two kilometers from his home.
Despite not seeing Aviral's mother, the driver dropped off the boy on the main road - a clear violation of rules that say in such cases, the child should be taken back to the school.
The van then reversed, the driver failing to realise that the boy was still standing on the left.
The child got run over and "dragged for some distance," said Aviral's father Hitendra Rana, a technician with the Railways.
The boy was rushed to the closest hospital, but could not survive his injuries.
The vehicle was a private Maruti van ferrying school children. The vehicle has been seized, and the driver, 28-year-old Rahul Kumar, has been arrested.
So far, there is no charge of negligence against the school, but initial probe suggests that the driver had broken a number of other rules.
All private vans working as school vans should have a board at the rear end saying "school bus" which wasn't there.
There should be a helper in the van, in this case there was none.
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