School bus tragedy: Case of mistaken identity, ‘dead’ boy comes alive on birthday

Hyderabad: It is like "rebirth" for six-year-old Darshan Goud, who was mistakenly believed to have been killed in the terrible train-school bus collision at an unmanned railway crossing that left 16 persons, including 14 children, dead in Telangana's Medak district.

In a case of mistaken identity, the boy's father, Swmay Goud, was handed over a "body" as his son on Thursday, and the sorrowful parents performed last rites subsequently.

As Darshan gained consciousness on Friday in a hospital, where he was rushed after the mishap, he revealed his father's name. The grieving parents were informed that their son is still undergoing treatment at a private hospital.

Read: Telangana school bus mishap: Passing vehicles on the National Highway didn’t help

After reaching the hospital, Swamy Goud was greeted by his son whose birthday falls today, said Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao, while clarifying that there was "some confusion" in handing over the body.

"Under confusion, a parent (Swamy Goud) took away body of another child thinking that it was his son. Swamy Goud (father of Darshan Goud) could not make out his son's body and took another instead. The mistake has been rectified now.

Swamy Goud, who was in a state of shock yesterday, after signing the papers took away the body of one Dattu who had actually died in the mishap," the minister told reporters.

Both Dattu and his elder sister had died in the accident and their father Veera Babu took away the body of his daughter, presuming that his son was alive and was being treated in a hospital.

Read: Telangana school bus mishap: Replacement driver’s shortcut costs lives

"Later in the night, Veera Babu came to the hospital and verified. He realised that his son was no more and his body was also not there. Both the fathers were asked to contact the district administration and set right the records...Today is birthday of Darshan. It is like rebirth for him," Rao said.

Swamy Goud said "My son's name is Darshan Goud and we fondly call him Dhanush. I had sent him to school yesterday at 8.30 am. Later, I received a phone call about the accident. I was told my son had died and after that I went to different hospitals searching for my son. I reached a private hospital and saw some bodies of school children."

"I fainted and could not recognise a body that was shown to me as the face of the body was disfigured. Assuming that it was my son's body, I took it and performed the last rites. As I was in a state of shock, I got confused between Dhanush and Dattu. I regret for what has happened," he said.

Read: Telangana school bus mishap: A fatal crossing

However, the parents of Dattu are in a state of shock and crest-fallen.

Dattu belonged to Islampur village, while Darshan is from Kishtapur village in Medak district.

In one of the biggest tragedies involving school children, 16 persons, including 14 children, were killed at an unmanned level-crossing near Masaipet of Veldurthi mandal of Medak district in Telangana when a speeding train hit a school bus on Thursday morning.

Witnesses told the police that the driver of the bus was wearing ear phones probably listening to music or talking on his mobile phone — and tried to cross the track while a train was coming, resulting in a side on-collision.

Among the 14 children who died, eight are boys and six are girls, all aged below 12 years. Most of them were Nursery, Lower KG and Upper KG students.