LUDHIANA: A three-year-old boy who had toddled along with his mother to see off his elder sister to school, died after being mowed down by the same bus on the outskirts of Ludhiana on Wednesday morning.Samardeep Singh died on the spot. The 20-year-old bus driver tried to escape but was chased down by locals who handed him over to police. There was no attendant on the bus, a violation of Safe School Vahan policy, leading police to register an FIR against driver Navdeep Singh and management of BITS International Convent School.Samardeep’s mother accompanies their daughter Ramandeep to the bus pick-up and drop-off point on the main road near their house in Shalu Bahini village, said the father, Harmesh Singh. Some days the toddler would also go along.“After Ramandeep sat on the bus, my wife and son crossed the road in front of the bus to return home,” said Harmesh.Father blames school too for child’s deathHarmesh said, “Samardeep was walking behind his mother when the bus driver, without paying any attention to the road and without blowing the horn, started moving and mowed down my son under both the front and back tyres.”Onlookers raised the alarm. “The driver tried to flee with the bus but residents chased him and made him stop. The driver is merely 19-20 years old. How could the school let him drive a bus full of children? Also, there was no attendant on the bus. The school is equally responsible,” the father said.Inspector Madhu Bala, SHO of Koom Kalan, said driver Navdeep and the school management face an FIR under charges of rash driving and causing death by negligence. “The driver has been arrested. The school owns the bus. Police are checking documents of the bus to see if it complies with Safe School Vahan Policy, as it did not have an attendant.” The bus has a Haryana registration plate.
