School boy hit by car in Ludhiana; activists flag violation of norms

LUDHIANA: A Class V student of a private school suffered serious injuries after being hit by an SUV in Ludhiana on on Tuesday.
The incident occurred outside Sacred Heart Convent School in Sarabha Nagar.
The 10-year-old was admitted to the DMC hospital.
The police on Thursday evening lodged an FIR against the woman who was driving the SUV.
The injured boy has been identified as Shrish Jain while the accused woman driver has been identified as Ranjeet Kaur.
However, some activists pointed out that the incident was a fallout of violation of the 'Safe School Vahan Policy'.
A police officer said that some cars were already parked near the spot due to which neither the boy could see the vehicle, nor the woman could spot the child. The car was being driven slowly.
Activists said that the pickup and drop of students outside the school premises is a complete violation of the ‘Safe School Vahan Policy’ made by the Punjab government on the orders of the Punjab & Haryana high court in the year 2014.
Road safety activist Kamaljit Soi, who is also the custodian of Safe School Vahan Policy, said, “The schools are mandated to let buses and vans come inside the school premises to pick or drop the students. In fact, the school principal can be held responsible for any such mishap.”