Nine school children died and 11 others were seriously injured when the jeep they were travelling in fell off the road down the mountainside near Kangsali on Pratapnagar-Kangsali-Madan Negi motor road in Tehri district on Tuesday morning. The driver of the vehicle ran away after the vehicle fell into the gorge but was later arrested. Police are yet to ascertain the actual cause of the accident.
The deceased children have been identified as Rishabh (5), Ayaan (4), Aditya (8), Vihaan (5), Ishaan (6), Abhinav (6), Sahil (13), Aditya (10) and Vansh (5), while the injured are Prince (9), Akhilesh (7), Rishabh (7), Krishna (6), Suraj (7), Kanha (8), Siddharth (6), Ashish (10), Vedika (5), Naitik (2) and Ishika. All children hail from Kangsali village.
According to the information provided by the police the person who was driving at the time of accident was arrested and has been identified as 19 year old Lakshman Raturi, while his father and the actual driver is Prem Dutt Raturi. The accident happened at about 7:30 in the morning.
As per the sources, police are keeping the accused driver at a safe place as the villagers are filled with anger and might attack him.
Garhwal Inspector General (IG) Ajay Rautela said, “The accident is unfortunate. We will be filing a case against the driver.”
Tehri Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Yogendra Singh Rawat said, “The driver of the vehicle was sitting behind and his son was driving. His son is also an adult and has driving license also but it is not commercial. The vehicle was over loaded also. Among the 11 injured children five are in district hospital at Bauradi, one has been taken by his parents to Srinagar and five children were air lifted to AIIMS Rishikesh.”
Chairperson of State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) Usha Negi said, “We have sent a letter to the district magistrate to send us the investigation report about the accident. It is mandatory for the authorities to ensure that drivers are trained and verified by the police. The departments concerned cannot run away from their responsibilities.”