School bus carrying 20 kids rams into car, auto

Mumbai: A school bus carrying 20 kids to school in Santa Cruz (west) rammed into a Fortuner car and rickshaw, leading to an accident on Thursday morning at 7 am near Milan Subway. The police arrested the bus driver and booked him under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code that pertain to rash driving.

A woman in her mid-thirties, who was sitting in the car, sustained a back injury, while a college student in an auto rickshaw brushed over the bus and sustained a minor injury. Police officials of Santacruz police station said that the bus driven by the 28-year-old driver Rajeev Vishwakarma, who was taking 20 kids of Santacruz’s Podar International School, in a private bus hired by the said school. The accident took place near Milan subway in Santacruz (west), when the private bus rammed into a SUV Fortuner car with a loud thud and brushed against an auto rickshaw. According to an onlooker, the collision was huge and the glass of the bus broke into pieces with an evident dent on the four-wheeler. The auto rickshaw too bore the brunt of the collision, wherein the 19-year-old passenger Fatima Shaikh was shocked.

Anil Garg, President of School Bus Owners Association (SBOA) said, “This issue should be taken to the transport commissioner and he should be questioned about  out permits to such drivers despite so many cases of accidents being registered time and again against such drivers.”

Mumbai police spokesperson DCP (Operations) Rashmi Karandikar said, “The police has recorded the statements of the victims and the probe is on.”

The accused driver, Rajeev Vishwakarma was booked under section 279 and 337 of the IPC that pertains to rash driving and causing hurt by endangering life or personal safety of others.

Previous incident
A school van ferrying six students to school collided with another four-wheeler at 6.45 am near the east-west bridge in Kandivali on June 27 when they were on their way to Children’s Academy. Five children sustained minor injuries in the accident. The injured kids were rushed to the local hospital. The police has booked him for not having a valid permit to carry students, and registered a minor accident case.