The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has taken suo motu cognisance of the death of 25 school children due to head on collision between the school bus with a speeding truck today at Etah, Uttar Pradesh. The Commission Member, Shri Yashwant Jain in a letter addressed to the District Magistrate (DM), Etah District of Uttar Pradesh asked the DM to take stringent action against Aliganj JS Public School, Etah for opening the school despite the district administration’s order to keep the school closed till 20th January, 2017. In his letter, Shri Jain asked the DM to provide urgent medical assistance to the injured children, counsel the parents of the children to cope with the trauma caused due to the accident, and provide compensation to the victim’s families as per law and notify all schools in the district for compliance of transportation norms for carrying school children. Besides, the Member has also asked the district administration take stringent action against the owner of the bus and the truck after conducting due enquiry.
Shri Jain has also directed the district administration to send a progress report as well as action taken report within seven working days from the issuance of the notice. The commission took suo motu cognisance of the incident under Sections 13 and 14 of the CPCR Act after several TV news channels aired the news of the death of 25 school children in the accident.
While expressing condolence due to the accidental death of so many children, the Commission also wrote a separate letter to the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh today recommending him to take stringent action against the school for defying the order of the district administration. Shri Jain has asked the Chief Secretary to ensure implementation of the direction of the Supreme Court/ Guidelines on safe transportation of the school children by all the school in the state to avoid any such incident in future. The Commission has asked the Chief Secretary to share the compliance report within 30 days of the receipt of its letter.
