Drunk school van driver arrested, 15 children rescued

They were later dropped to their homes at Dnyaneshwar Nagar by one of our traffic police in the same van

The alertness of a Thane traffic police officer saved the life of 15 school students heading from Louiswadi to Nitin Company, in Thane (West). According to the police report, the officer was attending to traffic at the Nitin Company signal when he heard screams coming from a passing school van. He ran towards the vehicle and discovered that the driver was drunk and had lost control of the van.

The traffic police officer who saved the 15 students (HT Photo)

The driver, Suresh Gangaram Shiravle, 45, was supposed to drop off the students of Saraswati Education Society, Panchpakhadi, Thane to their homes after school. “When the traffic police officer heard the screaming of the students, he ran towards the van and immediately stopped the vehicle. After inquiring he realised that the driver was drunk and students too complained that the driver was driving rashly since he picked them up from their school,” said Anil Mangale, senior police inspector, Thane traffic police.

“The incident took place at around 6:30 pm, on Thursday. There were total 15 students from the secondary section in the vehicle. They were later dropped to their homes at Dnyaneshwar Nagar by one of our traffic police in the same van. The driver was booked for drunken driving under the Motor Vehicle Act, while the vehicle was taken into custody after dropping the students,” added Mangale.

Shiravle, a resident of Ramchandra Nagar failed the police’s alcohol test. “As the accused was not is position to talk we called his family members. The charges against the driver may be increased depending on what the investigation reveals,” said Mangale.