Hindustan Times (Patiala)

Jeep hits school bus in Hoshiarpur; 3 children killed

Among those killed is a brothersis­ter duo, who were students of Cambridge Internatio­nal School, Dasuya; a potatolade­n Mahindra pickup van rammed into the school bus on DasuyaHaji­pur road at 7.45am, resulting in the death of four

- HT Correspond­ent letterschd@hindustant­imes.com n

HOSHIARPUR: Three children, including a brother-sister duo , were among four people killed when a pick-up jeep rammed into a school bus near Singhpur village on the Dasuya-Hajipur road, 50 km from here, on Friday morning.

The mishap took place at 7.45am. The bus of Cambridge Internatio­nal School was taking the children from Talwara and nearby places to Dasuya.

Police said Surabhi Kumar, 7, her brother Anirudh, 4, and another student, Tanish Sharma, 12, besides bus driver Ranjit Singh died on the spot. They were all residents of Talwara, 25 km from Dasuya. Eyewitness­es said the jeep was overtaking a motorcycle when the accident occurred. Its driver, Dharam Singh, and cleaner were injured. Police have booked the jeep driver.

Three children, including a brother and a sister, were among four people killed when a school bus and a pick-up jeep collided near Singhpur village on the Dasuya-Hajipur road, 50 km from here, on Friday morning.

Ten students were injured when the potato-laden Mahindra pick-up jeep rammed into the bus of Cambridge Internatio­nal School, Dasuya, at 7.45am. The bus was taking the children from Talwara and nearby places to Dasuya.

Police said Surabhi Kumar, 7, her brother Anirudh, 4, and another student, Tanish Sharma, 12, besides bus driver Ranjit Singh died on the spot. They were all residents of Talwara, 25 km from Dasuya.

Eyewitness­es said the jeep was overtaking a motorcycle when the accident occurred. Its driver, Dharam Singh, and cleaner were injured.

All injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital at Dasuya from where six students were taken to a private hospital in Hoshiarpur. The jeep driver was referred to Government Medical College and Hospital in Amritsar.

Dasuya sub divisional magistrate Himanshu Aggarwal was at the spot to oversee relief and rescue.

Heartrendi­ng scenes were witnessed in the hospital as parents in panic looked for their children. “We had been asking the school authoritie­s to replace this bus. Despite assurances, they didn’t do so,” said an inconsolab­le Rohit Kumar, who lost both his children in the mishap.

School owner Sanjiv Wassal, who accompanie­d the injured to the Hoshiarpur hospital, said the bus was four years old and had been cleared by the motor vehicle department recently. “The 42-seater bus was in good shape and was carrying 36 students at the time of the accident. The bus driver tried to avoid the jeep but it rammed into our vehicle,” he said.

Deputy superinten­dent of police Rajinder Sharma said a case was registered against the jeep driver under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code. The vehicle was impounded.

Union minister and local MP Vijay Sampla mourned the deaths and asked the deputy commission­er and senior superinten­dent of police to ensure all schools adhere to road safety norms. Local MLA Arun Dogra visited the injured in the hospital.

 ?? PARDEEP PANDIT/HT ?? The bus of Cambridge Internatio­nal School, Dasuya, and the Mahindra pickup jeep after the collision, and (below) the children killed in the mishap (from left) Anirudh, Surbhi and Tanish.
PARDEEP PANDIT/HT The bus of Cambridge Internatio­nal School, Dasuya, and the Mahindra pickup jeep after the collision, and (below) the children killed in the mishap (from left) Anirudh, Surbhi and Tanish.
 ?? HT PHOTO ?? An injured student being taken to a hospital. At least 10 students were hurt in the mishap.
HT PHOTO An injured student being taken to a hospital. At least 10 students were hurt in the mishap.
 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India