6 dead as school bus on wrong side of Delhi-Meerut E-way collides with SUV
Ghaziabad: Six members of a family, including women and children, were killed while two others were critically injured in a deadly collision between an SUV and a school bus on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME), early on Tuesday morning.
According to the police, the bus was being driven in the wrong lane on the e-way when it rammed into the SUV carrying eight passengers.
At the time of the incident, no school student was present in the bus but six of eight members of the family travelling in the SUV died, said police officials.
According to the police, Narendra Yadav (45) and his younger brother Dharmendra Yadav (40), residents of Meerut, were travelling to a religious pilgrimage at Khatu Shyam temple in Rajasthan along with their families.
In the tragic accident, Narendra, his wife Anita (40), their two sons Himanshu (12), Deepanshu (15), Dharmendra’s wife Babita (35) and their daughter Vanshika (7) died. Dharmendra and his son Kartik (8) are still battling for life after they were critically injured in the incident.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (traffic), Ghaziabad, RK Kushwaha said the bus driver was coming from the wrong direction after filling up CNG from Ghazipur border in Delhi.
“The incident happened at around 6 am in the Rahul Vihar area under Crossing Republic police station. The bus was being driven in the wrong direction which rammed into the SUV coming from Meerut towards Ghaziabad. They were moving towards Gurgaon to take their relatives along with them to Khatu Shyam temple,” said Kushwaha.
Notably, the distance between the Ghazipur border and Rahul Vihar (where the incident took place) is around 8 kilometres. However, despite the presence of traffic monitoring cameras and police check-posts, no one intercepted the bus travelling in the wrong lane for so many kilometres.
Police found that the bus was associated with Vishwa Bharti School in Sector 28, Noida, and is owned by Chaudhary Tour and Travels.
An eyewitness said the bus was being driven at a high speed in the wrong lane. “The bus driver was driving the vehicle rashly at a high speed. The car’s speed was around 80-90 kmh and when the driver saw the bus, he tried to swerve and turned the vehicle onto the left side but the bus rammed into it as the driver turned it on the right side, thus colliding into the car,” an eyewitness said.
The intensity of the collision was such that mechanics had to be brought in to retrieve the bodies from the car after cutting through the iron.
Meanwhile, police have registered an FIR on the basis of a complaint filed by the victim’s youngest brother Jitendra Yadav against the bus driver.
“On the basis of a complaint received, an FIR has been registered under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 427 of the Indian Penal Code against the bus driver identified as Prempal, a native of Aligarh. He has been arrested and sent to jail after being produced before the court. Further investigations are underway. The bodies were handed over to the family after performing a post-mortem. Their last rites will be performed in their native village situated in the Incholi area of Meerut,” added Kushwaha.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the accident and asked officials to ensure proper treatment of the injured. He has also sought a report.
