Ghaziabad: Boy’s family stages protest, demands arrest of school authorities

The family members of the Class 4 student of Dayawati Modi Public School, who died after his head hit a pole while he peeped out of a school bus window, staged a protest outside the Modinagar police station on the Delhi Meerut road on Thursday morning demanding the immediate arrest of the school officials

The family members of the Class 4 student of Dayawati Modi Public School, who died after his head hit a pole while he peeped out of a school bus window, staged a protest outside the Modinagar police station on the Delhi Meerut road on Thursday morning demanding the immediate arrest of the school officials.

Family members of the boy staged a protest outside the Modinagar police station in Ghaziabad for two hours on Thursday. (Sakib Ali/HT photo)

Ten-year-old Anurag Bhardwaj boarded the school bus from his residence at Surat City in Modinagar on Wednesday morning. He suffered critical injuries as he stuck his head out of the window of the moving school bus and it hit a pole of a gantry gate near his school. Family members lodged a police complaint, holding school officials, including principal N P Singh, the driver and the conductor of the bus, responsible for the death of the boy.

On Wednesday, police picked up several people for questioning but most of them were let go during the later half of the day. “We demanded immediate arrest of school authorities but the police let them go. They were picked up for questioning but no action was taken against them. After discussions with the police, we have decided to wait for four days and then decide the next course of action,” said Priti Sharma, the boy’s aunt.

Police said the boy’s family members and relatives staged a protest for about two hours on the Delhi-Meerut road. Sub-divisional magistrate Shubhangi Shukla arrived at the spot to defuse the situation and clear the road, during which there was a heated exchange of words between her and the boy’s family members. A video of the incident also went viral. Shukla could not be reached for comments on the issue.

Police registered an FIR for murder and criminal conspiracy against those named in the complaint lodged by the boy’s family. Police said they have seized the bus and arrested the bus driver and the conductor

“We have arrested the driver and the conductor and we are taking legal opinion about the IPC section that will be levied on them before we produce them in court. We are in the process of collecting evidence in the case. The school officials were let go but will be summoned for interrogation as and when required. If we find their role in the case, we will take suitable action against them,” said superintendent of police (rural) Iraj Raja.

“The autopsy report of the boy indicated that he died due to ante-mortem injuries (those sustained before death),” said the SP.

School officials could not be reached for comments despite repeated calls on the landline number. The school principal also did not take calls seeking a response over the issue. The school authorities had not responded on Wednesday as well.