Delhi, July 15 -- A 12-year-old schoolgirl was killed after a school bus collided with the e-rickshaw carrying her and other children near Majlis Park Metro Station in northwest Delhi on Tuesday morning, with a bystander alleging that several onlookers recorded videos of the aftermath instead of helping the critically injured child. The deceased was identified as Priyanshi, a resident of Rama Garden in Mukundpur. She was on her way to school when the accident occurred at around 6.45 am. According to police, a PCR call reporting the accident was received at Adarsh Nagar police station at around 7 am, following which a police team reached the spot near Majlis Park Metro Station and initiated rescue and legal proceedings. Also Read - MCD rolls out EduLife 2.0 for schools A preliminary inquiry revealed that the school bus, driven by Kamal Singh (55), collided with the e-rickshaw carrying schoolchildren. During the impact, Priyanshi fell from the e-rickshaw and came under the bus, sustaining grievous injuries. She was rushed to Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial (BJRM) Hospital in Jahangirpuri, where doctors declared her brought dead. Police said no other child travelling in the e-rickshaw was injured. The e-rickshaw was being driven by Ajay Prasad (45), a resident of Mukundpur. Police said the exact sequence of events leading to the collision is being verified. Govinda, who works at a nearby gym and claimed to be among the first people to assist the child, said he reached the spot within eight to 10 minutes while on his way to work and was shocked by what he witnessed. Also Read - CM serves up 'Mayur' "When I reached there, the girl was lying in a pool of blood. People were standing around, but many were busy making videos on their phones. I picked her up immediately and rushed her to the hospital," he claimed. According to Govinda, the other children travelling in the e-rickshaw were crying and pleading for help. "The children were requesting people with folded hands to save her, but many were only recording the scene. We took her to the hospital, but the doctors declared her dead," he alleged. Priyanshi's family said she had boarded the e-rickshaw along with her elder sister shortly before the accident. Also Read - Delhi's first child safety PTM on July 25 "We had safely seated both the girls in the battery rickshaw. Near Majlis Park, a bus hit it, causing the younger sister to fall onto the road. She then came under the bus tyres," family members said. Another relative, Rakesh, said the family was informed of the incident through a phone call and later confronted the bus driver. "When we questioned the bus driver, he admitted that a mistake had happened. There were many children inside the bus as well, while four children were travelling in the e-rickshaw," he claimed. The family alleged that the school bus was being driven at high speed and in a reckless manner. Senior police officers, along with the district crime team and the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team, inspected the accident site. The body has been preserved at the BJRM Hospital mortuary for post-mortem examination. Police have seized both the school bus and the e-rickshaw. The bus driver has been apprehended and is being questioned, while the e-rickshaw driver has also been detained.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.