NEW DELHI: A school van, which collided with a milk tanker resulting in the death of a 7-year-old girl and injuries to 17 other students last week, did not have the necessary clearances to ply on the road, a magisterial probe into the accident has found.
Sources said Northwest Delhi District Magistrate C Uday Kumar has recommended registration of cases against the present owner of the school van and its driver under sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC.
The driver did not have the permit to run the school van and also, there was no 'fitness' certificate of the vehicle, sources said.
In his report submitted to the Delhi government, Kumar said both the owner and driver of school van were at fault.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had ordered a magisterial probe into the incident following which Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash had directed the Northwest District Magistrate to submit his interim report within three days.
In the report, the district magistrate said the school van had last year completed 15 years on road -- the maximum period such vehicles are allowed on the city's roads, but the present owner of the vehicle was using it for transportation of school children.
"Both owner and driver were found at fault. In the report, the DM has recommended registration of cases against the duo under Section 304 and 337 of the IPC," a source said.
The magisterial report also found that the driver of the van was driving on the wrong side of the road which led to the accident.
On April 27, a seven-year-old girl was killed and 17 students were injured after the milk tanker and the private school van collided near the Kanhaiya Nagar metro station in northwest Delhi.
The driver of the private school van had his earphones on and was driving on the wrong side of the road.
The milk tanker driver was allegedly under the influence of alcohol, police had said.
The police have charged the 38-year-old milk tanker driver, Sanjeev, with "culpable homicide not amounting to murder".
Vijay, 20, who was driving the school van, has been charged under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.