Bodies of bus mishap victims consigned to flames

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, February 16

The bodies of four children, who were charred to death inside their school van which caught fire on Saturday, were consigned to flames at Longowal on Sunday. Four panels of 12 doctors conducted the post-mortem examination at the Civil Hospital here on Sunday night.

The van, ferrying 12 students of Simran Public School, Longowal, was reportedly purchased from a scrap dealer. The reason for fire is still a mystery. Eight children were rescued from the burning van, while four — Aradhya (5), Simranjit Singh (5) and his cousins Kamalpreet Kaur (5) and Navjot Kaur (4) — were burnt alive.

“The children died of burns and asphyxiation. The bodies were charred badly. Simranjit’s body was identified without any problem, while Aradhya’s body was identified from a silver anklet. The other two children were sisters,” said Senior Medical Officer (SMO) Dr Kirpal Singh.

Kulwinder Singh, uncle of the three cousins, said: “The children died because of the negligence of the education and transport authorities. The state government must take corrective measures to prevent such mishaps in future.”

Congress leader Harman Bajwa said he would request the government for the early release of an ex-gratia of Rs7.25 lakh each to the families of the victims.

“We have registered a murder case against school owner Lakhwinder Singh and van driver Dalvir Singh on the complaint of Navjot Kaur’s father Jasvir Singh. Both of them have been arrested. He has alleged the school management did not make proper transportation arrangements in spite of his repeated requests,” said Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Sandeep Garg.

The police are investigating whether or not the van was purchased against valid documents.