Hours after a school bus with two of his grandchildren met with an accident in Haryana’s Mahendragarh district on Thursday morning, Hanuman Singh was enraged. “The school authorities are equally responsible for this,” Singh said, adding that the school authorities were aware that the bus driver was under the influence of alcohol.
“At Kheri Talwana, the bus was stopped by a few villagers who saw that the driver was drunk and driving rashly. They took the keys out of the ignition. They returned it after the school staff on the bus made them. Around 6 km away from the village, the accident took place,” Singh said as he waited to get a second CT scan for his granddaughter Radhika at a private hospital in Rewari.
Singh’s granddaughters, Radhika and Bhumika, were among the 40 students of GRL School who were in the bus when it overturned near Kanina village, killing six students. Radhika, a Class 2 student, suffered multiple injuries on her head and was showing a GCS score – Glasgow Coma Scale is used to measure a person’s consciousness level after a head injury – of 11. “Doctors said patients with a score below seven will be comatose…Radhika has a score of 11 and we are holding on till evening to see what should be done,” he said.
Singh said they had initially searched for the two girls in hospitals in Kanina when they got a call from the school authorities that they were in Rewari. “We rushed to the hospital and found that Bhumika, 8, sustained an injury in her right hand while Radhika suffered serious injuries,” he said.
Confirming the incident, a police officer said that the bus driver almost hit another vehicle. “The driver of the vehicle stopped the bus and took the keys prompting the villagers to gather. They called the school authorities and informed them that the driver was drunk and driving rashly. Later, they gave the keys back and he drove away,” the officer said.
Like Singh, Mahesh Kumar ran helter-skelter after he was informed that the bus carrying his two children and nephew had overturned. “They left home at 8.30 am and around 9 am, my wife got a call regarding the accident. We rushed to the spot. My children are safe and admitted to a Rewari hospital but my nephew Ricky has passed away,” he told The Indian Express over the phone.
Kumar, an ex-serviceman, took his children to a private hospital and quickly left for Mahendragarh to take over the affairs as his brother Ravinder Singh mourned Ricky’s death. “The children were telling me the driver was speeding and they pleaded with him to slow down. He said they were late and drove negligently,” he added.
His children Pooja, a Class 11 student, and Piyush, a Class 9 student have sustained injuries on their head, hands, and ears. Ricky was a Class 8 student.
Action will be taken against school management: Police
Mahendragarh Deputy Commissioner Monika Gupta said that the negligence of the driver and school management has come to their attention and police are investigating all aspects. “It was the responsibility of the management to check the driver’s background before hiring. Action will be taken against the driver, principal, and management of the school,” she said.
Gupta added that the treatment cost will be funded by the government. An FIR has been registered in the case.
The police said of the 21 injured, 11 were taken to Rewari while a few others had to be referred to Rohtak PGI. The deceased students have been identified as Satyam Sharma of Class 12, Yuvaraj and Vansh of Class 9, Yakshu and Ricky of Class 8, and Anshu, who was a student of Class 10.