Uttar Pradesh Horror: 7-Year-Old Girl Dies After Falling Through Hole In School Bus Floor In Kasganj

Kasganj: A seven-year-old girl was tragically crushed to death under the wheels of a moving school bus after she allegedly fell through a damaged section of the vehicle’s floor on Saturday afternoon in Nagla Sadhu village of Kasganj district, Uttar Pradesh.

The victim, identified as Ananya, was a kindergarten student at Mount Dev Intermediate School in the Aligarh district. She was returning home with three other children, including her elder brother, when the accident occurred.

According to the girl’s father, Ravi Yadav, Ananya was seated near the rear wheel when the floorboard of the bus gave way, causing her to fall onto the road. “Other children inside the vehicle immediately began shouting, but the driver did not stop for nearly 100-150 metres”, he said. A passing taxi driver eventually blocked the bus and alerted the driver to the situation.

Family members allege that instead of rushing her to the nearest hospital, the bus driver drove Ananya to her home, delaying critical medical assistance. She was later taken to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

Outraged locals and the girl’s relatives blocked the Aligarh-Kasganj road in protest, accusing the school and driver of negligence. During the protest, the bus was damaged and the driver was beaten before police intervened and took both into custody.

After more than 24 hours, the police registered an FIR at Gangiri police station against school manager Arvind Yadav and bus driver Chandra Prakash. Police said the case has been filed under charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Aligarh’s assistant regional transport officer, Pravesh Kumar, said action is being initiated against both the school management and the bus driver, and a case would be registered in connection with the accident.

The school is located nearly 55 km from Aligarh city and about 20 km from Kasganj. A majority of its students are from Kasganj. The institution, which runs classes up to the intermediate level, has an enrollment of around 500 students. The school bus ferried around 28 students to their homes.

Meanwhile, the Congress demanded a thorough investigation into the incident, calling it a murder. “This heart-wrenching incident tells the story of the corrupt government and the failed system in Uttar Pradesh. This is not an accident - it is a murder, which has been carried out by the corrupt and rotten system of the BJP,” the Congress said in a post on X.

Officials said the hole in the bus floor - reportedly measuring about 2.5 feet by 2.5 feet near the tyre area, posed a serious safety hazard, and actions are being initiated against the school management and the bus driver. A case is expected to be registered following the family’s complaint, and the body has been sent for post-mortem as part of the ongoing investigation. 

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