School bus driver ‘beaten, abducted,’ after vehicle crushes dog at village

The police booked four persons for brutally attacking a school bus driver. The alleged assault of the driver occurred after a pet dog was crushed by the bus in Machhiwara.

The suspects have been identified as Lovepreet Singh, Saurav Rana, Gaurav Rana and Manpreet Singh, all residents of Kacha Machhiwara.

The complainant, 58-year-old Didar Singh from Bhorla Bet village, said he drives a bus of a school in Garhi Tarkhana. On the morning of October 28, when he was passing near a house in Kacha Machhiwara village on the way to pick up students, a dog darted on the road and went under the vehicle’s rear wheel, resulting in its death.

He stopped the bus to check but the dog had already died.

He said four persons present at the scene told him to leave as the dog is dead, hence, he left the place.

Later, when he was returning after picking up a student from Gaunsgarh village, three of the suspects — Lovepreet, Saurav, and Manpreet, allegedly cornered his bus and began to vandalise it. The assailants forcibly pulled open the bus window and dragged him out of the vehicle. They also tossed his turban, grabbed him by the hair and began hitting him with sticks, the complainant alleged.

“Afterwards, they forced me to sit on on their motorcycle and drove me to their Kacha Machhiwara village, where the fourth suspect, Gaurav, was waiting. They severely beat him again. Hearing my cries, people gathered at the scene. Following which, the suspects fled the place,” the complainant said.

People took the victim to the Civil Hospital, Machhiwara. Later, a police complaint was lodged, which led to the registration of a case against the suspects.