Dead schoolboy’s kin protest outside school

Bangalore: A day after seven-year-old Manish C. was killed after being run over by a school bus on campus, his family members and relatives reportedly gathered outside Out­reach Sch­ool in Wil­son Gar­den police limits on Thur­sday afternoon in pro­test aga­inst the callous attitude and neglige­nce allegedly shown by th­e school authorities to­wards the victim’s kin.

Around 11.30 am, nearly 50-60 persons reportedly gathered in front of Outreach School on BTS road, with the boy’s body in an ambulance parked outside the gates, protesting against the school.

However, since the school authorities had declared a holiday, the front gates were locked. Finally, school principal Keerthi, accompanied by one of the trustees, Pradeep, reached the spot from their homes to pacify Manish’s relatives. The Wilson Garden police also reached the scene and asked the protesters to leave peacefully, restoring calm to the area by around 2 pm.

“The boy’s family was upset because the school officials did not bother to inform them of the incident. There was nobody present at Agadi Hos­pital when Manish’s parents reached the­re, and they were shocked by the school authorities’ callous behaviour and lack of basic courtesy. How­ever, the principal and trustee spoke to Manish’s parents and appear to have sorted out the matter,” said a senior police officer.

The driver of the school van, Praveen, was also immediately arrested following the incident on Wed­nesday; and Wilson Garden traffic police registered a case against him. Further investigations are on.