Pune school van driven by auto driver hits students, six injured

Two of the students, Yash Jadhav and Aftab Shaikh, sustained serious injuries.

Six students were injured when they were hit by a school van in Chikhalwadi area on Aundh Road on Thursday morning. The incident took place at about 9.30 am near the Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Primary School, which is run by the Pune Municipal Corporation. The injured students were rushed to a hospital, said police, adding that two students sustained serious injuries while four other students were discharged after treatment. An offence of negligence has been registered in the case at the Khadki police station.
Senior Police Inspector L M Borate of Khadki police station said the driver, identified as Rashid Shaikh (45), has been arrested. The incident took place when Rashid, an auto-rickshaw driver, was dropping a few students off at the school on Thursday morning, said police. A few students got off a school van at the same place.

Rashid, who knew the driver of the school van, sat on the driver’s seat of the van and started the vehicle, said police. Initial investigation has revealed that Rashid accidentally pressed the accelerator of the van, due to which the vehicle started moving and hit the students. Rashid was not familiar with the functioning of the school van, said police. The incident created panic in the area for some time.

The driver of the school van, Moin Nawaj Abdul Karim Shaikh (45), has been booked on charges of negligence. The injured students were identified as Swapnil Walhekar, Priyash Salve, Vaibhav Raste, Irfan Shaikh, Yash Jadhav and Aftab Shaikh.

Police said that Yash and Aftab were undergoing treatment at a private hospital, while four other students had been discharged. Aftab will have to undergo a surgery on Friday as his thigh bone was broken in the mishap, said police.