Class 5 student run over by ‘speeding’ school van

NEWDELHI:An 11-year-old student of a government school was killed after being run over by a speeding van ferrying children in west Delhi’s Janakpuri on Friday morning.

Police said the boy was run over in front of his two sisters – aged 9 and 6 years — who also suffered minor injuries after being hit by the van.

The driver of the van managed to flee, even as some passersby and security guards of a government girls school tried to give chase. A case was registered and the driver, identified as Anmol Dubey, was nabbed on Saturday. The police tracked down the van with the help of the vehicle’s registration number, which the locals had managed to note down. The 11-year-old – Saroj Kumar Thakur – was a Class 5 student of a government school in Janakpuri B2-block. The accident took place around 7.45 am outside the girls school in A-block, Janakpuri.

Saroj’s family members said that the boy was admitted to Mata Chanan Devi hospital, where he succumbed on Saturday morning. The family members also alleged that that the Maruti Eeco school van driver was driving in a zig-zag manner and hit the children from behind.

Saroj’s father, Gagan Thakur, said that the accident took place when he and his wife had helped their children cross the road and the children were walking towards the school.

The boy’s family members said that some locals who witnessed the accident told them that the school van driver stoppedd for a few seconds after the mishap but instead of rushing the children to hospital, the driver reversed the vehicle and again ran over Saroj’s body in a bid to flee.

A police officer, associated with the case said, “We had the van’s registration number. The ownership of the van was ascertained and the man, who was driving it at the time of the accident, arrested.” HTC