VELLORE : A nine-year-old boy was crushed under the wheels of his school bus, in Vaniyambadi on Monday morning. Sources said the child slipped off the footboard while climbing. Oblivious to the incident, the driver sped on, killing the boy.
Had the private school not flouted safety norms and the officials not turned a blind eye to the violations, the life of the boy would not have been nipped in the bud. The bus allegedly only had a driver, when the norms clearly mandate presence of an attendant on school buses, well placed sources told Express.
According to police, V Dinesh, a resident of Koothanda Kuppam, was a student of class IV at Sigaram Matriculation High School in Chinna Mottur near Vaniyambadi. His father Venkatesan was a wholesale egg dealer in Vaniyambadi.
On Monday, around 8.30 am, Dinesh was waiting to board his school bus. When the vehicle came, he tried to climb in quickly, but lost his balance and fell down. However, the driver failed to notice that Dinesh had slipped and sped on. Dinesh came under the rear wheels of the bus and sustained grievous injuries to his thighs. Though he was rushed to the government Vaniyambadi hospital in an 108 ambulance, he was declared ‘brought dead’ by the doctors. The bus driver, Murugesan, who fled from the spot was later arrested by the Jolarpet police and booked under IPC 304A (Causing death by negligence).
The Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicles (Regulation and Control of School Buses) Special Rules 2012 mandate that an attendant should be present while transporting students in a school bus. The safety norms also clearly mention that the attendant should hold a valid conductor’s licence. However, in the Monday’s incident, the school had violated the rules by not employing an attendant.
Speaking to Express, Regional Road Transport Officer Ashokan said that the bus had a valid fitness certificate. “On receipt of the FIR and other related documents, we will initiate action against the school for operating the bus without attendant, as prescribed by the school bus safety norms,” he said.
G Murugan, Inspector of Matriculation Schools (IMS), Vellore and Tiruvannamalai, inspected the school and conducted an inquiry. “We are yet to complete the inquiry. If the bus was operated without an attendant, we will lodge a police complaint against the school management,” he said.