Gurgaon: 2-year-old run over by bus his siblings took to school

Two-year-old Aryan Khatana was run over outside his house in Gurgaon’s Rithoj village. (Expres Photo by Amit Mehra)

The child’s grandfather Akalbir Singh said Aryan came under the front wheel of the bus and died on the spot. The incident was witnessed by the child’s grandmother as well, who was walking behind them. Jatan Singh, Aryan’s uncle, said the bus driver did not stop after running over the child.

“Villagers who were nearby followed the bus on their cars and motorbikes, and stopped it a little way ahead. When we demanded that the driver show his licence, we found he didn’t have any documents with him,” he alleged.
Around 200 residents then headed to the school to confront the authorities, and found that the administration, including the principal, had purportedly fled.

Residents claimed that they had complained several times to the school about rash driving by the accused, with the latest complaint being made 10 days ago. “The man is blind in one eye and has caused several minor accidents. Around two months ago, he ran over a resident’s cow. The school was forced to apologise and pay compensation to the owner. They had promised then that they would remove the driver from service,” alleged Ravinder Khatana, a relative.

Residents added that the problem is not limited to this particular school. “We have complained about buses of several other schools in the vicinity. They must be careful when driving in these narrow roads, because children might come running out from any direction. Apart from bad driving, the conductors don’t come out to help the children board the bus and to make sure they’re safe,” claimed Khatana.