Chilling new details reveal that the management was aware that the bus was old, and was definitely not in a condition to be used for transporting the children, but the management continued to ferry the children in it.
That an apathetic school management and rash driving under the influence of alcohol by the school bus driver, Govindaraju P, 32, caused the death of 13-year-old Abhilash L, a student at the Sarjapur-based St Philomena’s High School on Sarjapur-Bagalur Road, is proven beyond doubt from the shocking details that DNA gathered on Thursday.
But now it turns out that the school management was even more insensitive than one assumed. Chilling new details reveal that the management was aware that the bus was old, and was definitely not in a condition to be used for transporting the children, but the management continued to ferry the children in it.
And the shocking fact in this tragedy is this: the ill-fated bus was rejected by the school’s faculty members four months ago on the ground that it was old and not fit for them to be driven in; but the teachers thought it right to assign the same bus to ferry the children. A brand new bus was bought by the management to ferry teachers and staff. This has been confirmed by the St Philomena’s High School’s teacher N Anita, who has been working at the school for the past eight years.
“The old bus which met with an accident on Wednesday was used to drop the staff till four months ago. But when we complained that the bus was eight years old and had to be changed, they purchased a new bus for the staff while the old one was let out to ferry the children.”
The driver of the bus, Govindaraju P, who is undergoing treatment at Veerayoga Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) defended himself saying that it was “brake failure” which caused the accident that killed Abhilash and injured 15 others, some grievously.
The duty doctor at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of VIMS confirmed to DNA that Govindaraju was indeed under the influence of alcohol.
“The driver was tested with high levels of alcohol in the blood when he was brought in yesterday,” she said.
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