Both drivers are habitual offenders

Continuing the probe into the alleged accident that claimed the life of a sevenyearold girl, the police said that the driver of the school van, which was hit by a milk tanker, had been challaned by the traffic police eight times under various offences. The milk van driver has over 17 cases of violation against him.

According to police, the man was driving the vehicle under the influence of alcohol with headphones plugged in his ears. It also added that the school van was filled with children beyond capacity. A Delhi government officer said that the van, a 2002 model private vehicle, was running illegally. Its driver, Vijay Kumar, did not fulfil the various norms required for driving school vans.

Kumar was also carrying a licence for driving private vehicles, the official said.

According to rules, vans used for carrying school children must be equipped with devices like global positioning system ( GPS) and speed governors for the safety of children. The drivers of such vehicles also require having their licence and badge verified by the police.

“In this case, all these measures were absent since the van was a private vehicle and it was being used to carry school children,” the officer said, adding, “Such school vans put wooden benches inside vehicles and also make the children sit on CNG kits. These are recipes for disaster.”