Gorakhpur: A 10-year-old girl was killed after an overcrowded and speeding van carrying schoolchildren overturned in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district on Saturday, police said.
The seven-seater van was carrying 15 other children, who, reports said, escaped unhurt. The vehicle had picked up the 16 children from Madanour Sukrouli village and it overturned near Sarangchapra village, Station House Officer (SHO), Khadda, Ram Ashish Yadav said, adding that the van was being driven at a very high speed.
"The girl, Pratibha, came under the van as a door of the vehicle was missing," he said. Locals rushed the girl to the Khadda primary health centre, where doctors declared her dead, the police said.
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The driver, Rajesh (26), a resident of Khadda, fled the spot after the incident, they said. "An FIR has been lodged against Rajesh under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and he will be arrested soon. The body of the deceased has been sent for an autopsy and the van has been impounded," Yadav said.
"An FIR has also been registered against the school manager, Shashikant Chaturvedi, and the principal, Akhilesh Chaturvedi," he added. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the death of the girl, said a statement issued by the government in Lucknow.
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When contacted, Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) of Kushinagar, Sandeep Kumar Pankaj said, "The seven-seater van had a fitness certificate and the driver had a license. But the van was carrying 16 children, which was more than double its capacity. Also, the driver was driving carelessly."
He, however, said that no door of the van was missing and it might have broken during the accident. A letter has been sent to the government to cancel the registration of the school, he added. (PTI copy)
