Indore police book dead bus driver for road mishap

Amid an outrage over the death of four students of the Delhi Public School (DPS) Indore in a road accident, the police today booked the driver of the ill-fated bus, who too perished in the crash, for culpable homicide.

Besides Rahul Sisodia, who was driving the school bus in which the students were on their way home, some unidentified persons were also booked on the same charge (unintentional but unlawful killing of someone), an official said.

The ghastly mishap occurred at the Kanadiya bypass when the speeding bus rammed into a truck on Friday.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Manoj Kumar Rai told PTI that an FIR was lodged at the Kanadiya police station under IPC section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against Sisodia (35) and some unidentified persons.

He said a probe was on and the responsibility for the accident would be fixed after it was completed.

"We will fix the criminal responsibility after the investigation is over. We will take appropriate legal steps against all those concerned," the ASP added.

Sisodia had lost control of the bus, which broke the divider and entered a parallel lane, before colliding head-on with the truck, the police had said.

Four schoolkids, aged between six and 12 years, were killed in the incident, while nine other students and the driver's assistant were injured.

Officials said prima facie, it appeared that a serious technical problem in the vehicle's steering or carelessness on the part of the driver had led to the accident.

However, the actual cause would be known only when the probe was completed, they added.

Meanwhile, people took to the social media to express grief over the accident. They also blamed the transport department and the school management for the tragedy.

However, DPS Indore principal Sudarshan Sonar claimed that the ill-fated bus was fully fit to run on the roads.

According to the information available on the transport department's website, the bus (MP 09 FA 2029) was 15-year-old and it was registered in the name of DPS, which was its third owner.

According to sources, the Indore RTO, in a report sent to the state transport commissioner, said the 34-seater bus was issued a fitness certificate on December 26, 2017 (10 days before the accident) and it was valid till December 25, 2018.

It has also been reported that a GPS device and CCTV cameras were installed in the bus as per norms.

Meanwhile, most private schools remained closed here today to mourn the death of the children killed in the accident.

The major markets of the city, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh, also downed shutters for half-a-day to express solidarity with the grieving families.