School bus runs over toddler after sisters get in

Trichy: A one-and-a-half-year-old boy was runover by a school bus while his mother was helping his two sisters board the vehicle, in Mayiladuthurai district on Friday.The victim was identified as B Magizhvelan, son of Balaji and Arasi, hailing from Ananda Koothan village in Kollidam.

Police said the couple has two daughters studying in Class IV and III at a private school near Sirkazhi, apart from their son.

Around 9am, Arasi brought her children to Netaji Nagar to send them to school holding Magizhvelan in her arms. When the school bus arrived, she put down the boy so she could help her daughters board through the door at the front.After the girls had boarded, the driver started the vehicle without noticing that the child was standing near the rear wheel.

As the bus moved forward, the wheel ran over the toddler. Magizhvelan sustained grievous injuries. Shocked, his mother and others rushed the child to hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival.Anaikaranchathiram police registered a case and arrested bus driver R Prakash, 36. Police booked him under sections 281 and 106(1) of BNS for rash and negligent driving that caused death. Autopsy was conducted on the body, after which it was handed over to the child’s family.

Further investigation is on.Dozens of people including the victim’s relatives blocked the roads in Sirkazhi after the toddler’s death. They demanded that the govt and police invoke charges of murder against the school management for the death. Officials pacified them saying their demands will be considered. Traffic was affected for about an hour due to the protest.