‘Van driver is a minor, drove rashly’
Parents of the children who died in Thursday’s school van tragedy alleged on Friday that the driver, Neyaz Ahmed, was a minor and that they had already informed the Divine Mission School’s management about his rash driving. They also demanded a probe to ascertain Neyaz’s age.
However, the regional transport officer (RTO), Gorakhpur division, DD Mishra, said Neyaz had a license that proved his age was 22.
But he could not answer why the school van didn’t have a number plate. He said the train accident was a matter of negligence.
Kiran Kumar, head of Misrauli village in Dudhai town here, squarely blamed the school’s administration and the Railways for the mishap.
Kiran, who lost all three of her children, Ravi (10), Anoop (8) and Ragini (3) in the accident, said her husband Amarjeet suspected the driver was a minor and had complained to the school three days back, objecting to his rash driving.
“But the school authorities only gave us assurance,” she said. “After a lot of persuasion, they said they would change the driver earliest by Shab-e-Barat on May 1. The school and the railways are responsible for the tragedy. We demand legal action against the officers concerned,” she said.
Other parents who had gathered at her house endorsed the view, stressing the driver was a minor.
“Even a blind person could tell that he was a minor. And Aadhar card or driving licence cannot be a criterion to judge one’s age,” said Videshi Prasad, another villager. However, Neyaz’s mother, who lives in Shahpur, a neighbouring village, said she was not aware of his age.
Locals from the village said Neyaz’s father, Mohammed Nasiruddin, worked in Saudi Arabia and his elder brother Saddam was a driver there.
So he started learning driving at an early age because he wanted to get a driving job in Saudi Arabia, they added.