Child rights panel finds laxity by K’shetra school

KURUKSHETRA: Two days after a nursery class student of Aggarsain Public School was crushed to death by a school bus, the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) has pointed out several laxities by the school administration.

Vishal Joshi

Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, July 24

Two days after a nursery class student of Aggarsain Public School was crushed to death by a school bus, the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) has pointed out several laxities by the school administration.

Five-year-old Davis Girdhar died on Friday when he was hit by the bus at the school in Sector 13. The driver and the conductor of the bus were arrested.

During detailed inspection yesterday, SCPCR member Paramjit Singh Badola found that the basketball court was being used wrongly as picking point of students.

“The CCTV camera covering a large playing space was found non-working. The child died at the court and footage of the mishap could have been crucial in pointing out irregularities. It seems the camera was manipulated intentionally to hide something and the police should look into the aspect,” Badola told The Tribune today.

He said the school management was answerable for immediate removal of blood stains from the spot.

Badola blamed the school administration for taking the safety of students casually and a detailed report would be submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the state government about non-compliance of its directions regarding safe transport system and other issues.

As per rules, a school bus should not to be used more than once in a day to pick or drop students for safety of the children and it was blatantly violated by the school, he said.

“Log books show the school vehicles were moving in and out of the school at an interval of less than five minutes. It results into reckless driving by the drivers and it seems to be reason behind the unfortunate death of Davis,” he said.

“The school could not get mandatory clearance certificates of the accused from the police and the local health authorities. Records say parents had lodged complaints against drivers and conductors about rash and negligent driving, but the management did not take action against them,” he said.

Admitting non-functioning of only one CCTV camera as suspicious, school management board general secretary Roshan Lal Gupta said separate entry and exit points would be started for safety.