The driver of a school bus put the lives of young school children at risk when he was caught using a bamboo stick in place of a gear lever. The driver, Raj Kumar, from Uttar Pradesh, was caught while driving the school bus of Podar Educational Complex in Santa Cruz, Mumbai.
The incident came to light, when the school bus, which was being driven rashly, hit a BMW car of a Khar resident at the Madhu Park in Khar West on Tuesday morning.
The bus driver failed to stop his vehicle after the crash, but was followed by the owner of the BMW and forced to stop. It was then found that there was a bamboo stick in the place of a gear lever which was being used to operate the vehicle. This practice was going on for the past two to three days. The business man immediately called up the police control room on noting this, while he also took out photos of the makeshift bamboo stick gear lever on his smartphone as evidence.
Kumar, the driver of the bus was arrested, but later released on bail. The bus has been seized by Mumbai Police. He has been booked under section 279 for rash driving and under Section 336 of Indian Penal Code, for endangering the life of another on the road as has been revealed by Sanjay More, Senior Inspector of Khar police station.
The driver cited that he did not get time to repair the damaged gear lever. The school authorities have been notified and asked to take remedial steps. It is still not clear whether there were students in the bus at the time of the incident or if they had been dropped to school.
The school has confirmed that all the students are safe and that the school transport committee will be making further inquiries into the incident. They will cooperate with the police in their investigation. An audit of the school buses will be undertaken and all bus drivers will be put through a training to ensure the safety of the school children and to ensure that such incidents of pure negligence do not occur again.
