On Thursday, April 21, a mother protesting against the school authorities in Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh, after her 10-year-old son died in a bus-related accident on Wednesday was screamed at by an official. The grieving mother was alleging that the school’s negligence caused her son’s death.
In a video, Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Modinagar Shubhangi Shukla screamed at the distraught mother, “Bas, chup (enough, shut up),” adding, “Why don’t you understand? I am asking you to keep quiet, I’ve been explaining the subject to you for so long.”
“Was it your son?” the mother, Neha Bharadwaj, asks in response, adding, “I have understood enough. He is silent now.”
On Wednesday morning, Neha’s son Anurag Bhardwaj, a 10-year-old schoolboy, died from serious injuries after sticking his head out the window of his moving school bus and hitting it against a pole of a nearby gantry gate.
The tragedy occurred about 8.30 a.m. outside Dayawati Modi Public School when the bus ferrying pupils to school took a turn and Anurag’s head collided with a pole, according to Ghaziabad District Administration officials. He was brought to the hospital with serious injuries but was pronounced dead upon arrival, according to the police.
Based on a complaint filed by the boy’s family, the Ghaziabad police have filed a FIR under sections 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code against the school administration, the bus driver, and co-driver.
Anurag resided in Modinagar’s Surat City Colony with his parents, Nitin and Neha, and his 14-year-old sister. His father works in the chief medical officer’s office and was recently assigned to the Central Police Department in Moradabad.
Anurag’s mother, claimed that she had complained to the school administration about the operating of the school buses as recently as April 1. “It is suspected that the school authorities, in retaliation, have conspired and killed my child.” In the police complaint, Neha stated, “There has been laxity in running the management of the school.”
The family staged a protest outside the school on Thursday morning, demanding immediate action against the authorities.
Senior officials, including the SP Rural and the SDM, arrived at the location to settle the gathering down.
Iraj Raja, rural superintendent of police, said that “We are questioning the school principal, the driver and other staff on board. An investigation is underway. Anurag’s family protested at the school after the incident but we pacified them. We have seized the bus for forensics and technical examination.” Raja also stated that the bus belonged to the school and was not hired.
Anurag was seated on the fourth row of the vehicle, according to a district official, and the window was barred with three iron grills with some room above to peek out.
Police are also trying to figure out why Anurag stuck his head out the bus window in the first place.
The SP added, “The school authorities maintain that Anurag was feeling nauseous and stuck his head out of the bus to get some air so he could feel better. However, Anurag’s family has completely rejected the claim.”
After the incident, the driver Omvir Kumar and the helper Jaipal fled, but they were caught hours later. Police filed a FIR against the school’s founder Umesh Kumar Modi, principal Netrapal Singh, Omvir, Jaipal, and others in the school management based on the parents’ allegations. “The principal is being questioned. Police will take further action on the basis of the investigation,” as per the SP.
Source- The Hindustan Times
