Dropped off by school bus, 4-yr-old run over

The victim has been identified as Sidharth, a resident of Shikohpur, Sector 78. He was studying in LKG in a private pre-school in Kherki Daula, his family said. According to police, the incident took place around 1.30 pm when the bus was dropping off school children at their respective houses. Police said that after the boy deboarded the minibus near his house, the bus driver allegedly drove the vehicle away and the boy fell and came under one of the wheels.

The deceased’s father, Gulshan Singh, who has a freelance photography business, said his family members heard a loud shriek and quickly rushed out of their house to check.

“It appears that he came under the tyres of the bus. He suffered several injuries — on his stomach, arms and legs. We rushed him to a private hospital in Civil Lines around 2 pm, but he did not get proper treatment there and a lot of crucial time was lost. He was talking to me at the time and mentioned that he wanted to go home. An ambulance arrived two hours late to take him to another hospital and he succumbed to injuries,” said Singh. He alleged negligence on part of the school authorities and the driver. “No helper or conductor was present on the bus, which should be mandatory. There is always a possibility of a mishap while boarding and deboarding, especially for young children. It should be the responsibility of the school to ensure the safety of children. A helper should help children get off the bus and hand them over to the custody of parents. At 9.30 am daily, either my wife or I ensured that he got safely onto the bus. He was my only son. I do not know what to say,” he said.

Singh said he had enrolled his son in LKG in the school on April 5. “After Covid, I put my two daughters — studying in class 4 and 6 — in a government school. Earlier, they were studying in the same school as my son. The previous driver used to drop them off safely till our house,” he added.

Rajender Singh, station house officer, Kherki Daula police station, said, “The boy travelled daily to school in the minibus. A probe has found that around 1.30 pm, after he got off the bus, the driver drove the vehicle away, and the boy came under it. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died around 5 pm. The family has filed a police complaint alleging negligence on part of school management and bus driver. We are registering an FIR under relevant IPC sections.”