Four children killed as school van catches fire in Punjab

Chandigarh: In a ghastly incident, four children were burnt alive when a private school’s mini van carrying students caught fire in Punjab’s Sangrur district on Saturday, police said.
The accident took place on the Longowal-Sidsaachar road, they said, adding 12 children were in the van at the time of mishap. While eight children were taken out safely by people working in nearby fields, four, including a girl three-year-old girl, were charred to death, they added.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh ordered a magisterial enquiry into the incident. “Very sad to learn of the news from Sangrur where we lost 4 children because their school van caught fire. The injured have been rushed to the hospital. DC and SSP Sangrur are on the spot and I have ordered a magisterial enquiry. Guilty will be strictly punished,” he tweeted
The children were returning home from school when the incident occurred, they said. Sangrur Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori, who visited the spot, told media that police had registered a case under Section 303 of IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against the school principal, its management and the owner and driver of the van.
“Preliminary inquiry indicates that the van was in a condemned condition but was being run illegally as per a report of District Transport Officer (DTO). If the DTO or any official of his office is found guilty, he will be chargesheeted,” he said. Sangrur Civil Hospital’s senior surgeon, Dr Raj Kumar, said no child was admitted to the government hospitals in the district. (PTI)