School bus hits auto, scooter at Delhi’s ITO; 1 killed, 5 hurt: Police

29-year-old man killed, 5 injured as school bus hits auto-rickshaw and two-wheeler in central Delhi. Bus driver claims brake failure; investigation ongoing.

A 29-year-old man was killed and five others sustained injuries after a school bus rammed into an auto-rickshaw and a two-wheeler standing at a traffic signal near the Income Tax Office in central Delhi’s IP Estate area on Friday morning, police officers aware of the matter said.

The bus was ferrying 42 students. (HT Photo)

The deceased was identified as Abhishek Jain, 29, a resident of Brahampuri in northeast Delhi who works as a technical staff at AIIMS, who was riding the two-wheeler. The injured were identified as bus driver Shiv Kumar, 51, auto-rickshaw driver Mahesh Kumar, 50, and three school children.

Investigators said that Mahesh in his police complaint said that the bus was being driving in a rash manner, but Shiv has claimed that the vehicle’s brakes failed. They said that they are investigating the matter.

The incident comes just a day after a school bus that was being driven rashly in Haryana’s Mahendragarh crashed, leading to the death of six schoolchildren, while 20 others were injured.

Giving details of the case, officers said that the police control room received a call at 7.28am regarding an accident near ITO, following which a team from the IP Estate police station reached the spot. They were informed that the injured scooter driver was rushed to Lok Nayak Hospital.

“We learnt that the bus was coming from Laxmi Nagar and when it was near the Income Tax Office, it first hit an auto-rickshaw and then a two-wheeler. The bus going to a school at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg,” an investigator said, on condition of anonymity.

The investigator said the school bus was ferrying 42 students, of which three suffered minor injuries and were also taken to Lok Nayak hospital.

Deputy commissioner of police (central) Harsha Vardhan said Shiv, the driver also sustained injuries and will be arrested after he is discharged.

The DCP said that a first information report was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing hurt), and 304A (causing death by negligence) against the bus driver. “Shiv has claimed that the vehicle’s brakes malfunctioned. However, its mechanical inspection will be done to verify the claim. It has been seized,” the officer said.