4 children die as school van catches fire in Punjab’s Longowal

Parvesh Sharma
Tribune News Service
Sangrur, February 15

Four children were burnt alive as their school van caught fire at Longowal in Sangrur district on Saturday.

The accident took place on the Longowal-Sidsaachar road, police said, adding 12 children were in the van at the time of mishap.

While eight children were taken out safely by people working in nearby fields, four, including a girl three-year-old girl, were charred to death, officials added.

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.

He said in a tweet: “Very sad to learn of the news from Sangrur, where we lost 4 children because their school van caught fire. Injured have been rushed to the hospital. DC & SSP Sangrur are on the spot & I have ordered a magisterial enquiry. Guilty will be strictly punished”.

Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori said: “The driver is absconding and a hunt has been launched to nab him. Preliminary reports suggest that three of the children belong to one family. The administration has been taking action against erring school van operators in the past and we will continue doing so.” 

The DC told media that police had registered a case under Section 304 of IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against the school principal, its management and the owner and driver of the van.

"Preliminary inquiry indicates that the van was in condemned condition and was being run illegally as per the report of District Transport Officer (DTO). If the DTO or any official of his office is found guilty, he will be chargesheeted," he said.

The DC added that the school situated at Longowal village was recently shifted to a new building on the outskirts of the village.

"The school has a temporary affiliation with the Punjab School Education Board, while the van being used was condemned and without relevant documentation," he said.

Sangrur Civil Hospital's senior surgeon, Dr Raj Kumar, said no child was admitted to the government hospitals in the district.

"The children who survived were taken away by their families from the spot," he said.

Angry locals held a protest and refused to allow the district administration to remove the bodies from the school van. 

They formed a committee and sought Rs 50 lakh compensation to the families of the deceased and Rs 20 lakh to the injured.

The panel also demanded the arrest of the accused besides registration of a murder case against the management of private school.

Punjab Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla, who is also Sangrur MLA, told media at the spot that the private 'Simran Public School' had purchased the "very old van" on Friday.

He announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the victims.

Police sources said the van was of 1990's model fitted with LPG kit and was unfit to run on the road. The driver of the van fled the spot after the van caught fire, they said.

Sangrur MP and AAP leader Bhagwant Mann, who visited the spot, told media that the van was put to use by the school for the first day on Saturday.

He demanded the registration of a murder case against school officials and the owner of the van.

He said the victims included around a three-year-old girl, who went to the school for the first time.

He said among the dead, two were from the same family.

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party and SAD condemned the incident and expressed condolences for the victim's families.

"I strongly condemn the usage of LPG-powered school van that has caused this havoc. Strict action needed against the school and the civil administration," Punjab AAP chief Harpal Singh Cheema wrote on his twitter handle. — With agency inputs

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