PUNE: Six students of a civic school were injured on Thursday morning when a stationary van started accidentally and ran over their legs while they were performing yoga after an autorickshaw driver — ignorant about driving light motor vehicles — fiddled with its ignition key.
The accident occurred around 9.30am on the ground of Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) Mata Ramabai Ambedkar School at Chikhalwadi in Khadki. One of the victims sustained multiple fractures on his leg, while another suffered a deep cut on his head. The rest sustained leg injuries.
The school van was parked barely two feet away from the students exercising. Its driver had gone inside the school to keep the students' bags and tiffin, leaving the keys in the ignition switch. The autorickshaw driver, Rashid Hanif Qureshi, who also ferries students, moved into the van and started fiddling with the ignition key and the gear knob.
Qureshi (42) ended up starting the van and a sudden jerk put the vehicle on the roll. It ran over the legs of the six Standard VIII students, aged 13. Fortunately, there was no casualty because the van had no occupants other than the auto driver when it ran over the legs of the students — residents of Khadki and Dapodi. A group of students on the school veranda claimed that they saw the yellow van moving towards those exercising. "Before we could scream, the van ran over the students' legs," said a girl.
The injured students — Irfan Rafiq Shaikh, Swapnil Manish Walhekar, Pritesh Uttam Salve, Yash Siddharth Jadhav, Aftab Sajid Shaikh, Vaibhav Anil Raste — were moved to the Aundh hospital for treatment in Qureshi's autorickshaw. Doctors operated upon Aftab Shaikh for multiple fractures.
School principal Chhaya Pawar told TOI, "I was in the ground floor corridor near my office and was about to step into my office when I heard the noise of the van. I rushed outside and saw students lying on the ground. Poonam Bidkar, a teacher, pushed a few students away from the van. The kindergarten (KG) students were arriving in vans and autorickshaws then. Thankfully, the van did not go in that direction."
As the approach road to the school is narrow and surrounded by hutments, the school authorities have allowed vans and autorickshaws to enter the institution's premises to enable the vehicles manoeuvre and turn back to Khadki. The van was parked on this road.
Khadki police's senior inspector Laxman Borate said, "Qureshi reached the school around 8.55am and dropped students. He returned to his autorickshaw when the van entered. Students jumped off the van and its driver picked up their bags and tiffin boxes for keeping them at the ground floor veranda of the school. Qureshi moved into the van and started playing with the ignition key and gear knob. Instead of switching off the engine when it started accidentally, he put the vehicle in gear."
The Khadki police booked him for offences under sections 279 (rash driving) and 338 (causing grievous hurt) of IPC. The van driver, Moinnawaz Abdul Karim Shaikh, was also booked for negligence.
The accident occurred around 9.30am on the ground of Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) Mata Ramabai Ambedkar School at Chikhalwadi in Khadki. One of the victims sustained multiple fractures on his leg, while another suffered a deep cut on his head. The rest sustained leg injuries.
The school van was parked barely two feet away from the students exercising. Its driver had gone inside the school to keep the students' bags and tiffin, leaving the keys in the ignition switch. The autorickshaw driver, Rashid Hanif Qureshi, who also ferries students, moved into the van and started fiddling with the ignition key and the gear knob.
Qureshi (42) ended up starting the van and a sudden jerk put the vehicle on the roll. It ran over the legs of the six Standard VIII students, aged 13. Fortunately, there was no casualty because the van had no occupants other than the auto driver when it ran over the legs of the students — residents of Khadki and Dapodi. A group of students on the school veranda claimed that they saw the yellow van moving towards those exercising. "Before we could scream, the van ran over the students' legs," said a girl.
The injured students — Irfan Rafiq Shaikh, Swapnil Manish Walhekar, Pritesh Uttam Salve, Yash Siddharth Jadhav, Aftab Sajid Shaikh, Vaibhav Anil Raste — were moved to the Aundh hospital for treatment in Qureshi's autorickshaw. Doctors operated upon Aftab Shaikh for multiple fractures.
School principal Chhaya Pawar told TOI, "I was in the ground floor corridor near my office and was about to step into my office when I heard the noise of the van. I rushed outside and saw students lying on the ground. Poonam Bidkar, a teacher, pushed a few students away from the van. The kindergarten (KG) students were arriving in vans and autorickshaws then. Thankfully, the van did not go in that direction."
As the approach road to the school is narrow and surrounded by hutments, the school authorities have allowed vans and autorickshaws to enter the institution's premises to enable the vehicles manoeuvre and turn back to Khadki. The van was parked on this road.
Khadki police's senior inspector Laxman Borate said, "Qureshi reached the school around 8.55am and dropped students. He returned to his autorickshaw when the van entered. Students jumped off the van and its driver picked up their bags and tiffin boxes for keeping them at the ground floor veranda of the school. Qureshi moved into the van and started playing with the ignition key and gear knob. Instead of switching off the engine when it started accidentally, he put the vehicle in gear."
The Khadki police booked him for offences under sections 279 (rash driving) and 338 (causing grievous hurt) of IPC. The van driver, Moinnawaz Abdul Karim Shaikh, was also booked for negligence.
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