SHRC orders probe into accident involving student

Thiruvananthapuram: The state human rights commission (SHRC) has ordered a probe into the incident where a student was thrown out of a running KSRTC bus after the vehicle's rear glass shattered. Commission chairperson Justice Alexander Thomas has mandated a thorough investigation into the incident.

The accident occurred on Sept 2 evening in front of Digital University, Pallippuram, on NH 66, which is under construction. P Navaneeth Krishna, a Class XII student at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Pallippuram, was thrown out of the bus after it hit a pothole, causing the rear glass to shatter. The boy is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.

The commission had registered the case suo motu based on a news report.

The commission has asked for a detailed investigation by a police officer not below the rank of DYSP, appointed by the Thiruvananthapuram rural district police chief. The investigating officer should record statements from the injured student and his classmates who were on the bus. The statements of the bus staff, the medical certificate from the doctor treating the student, and other relevant testimonies should be submitted. The complaint that there was no iron rod for safety at the rear of the bus should also be investigated, the commission said.

The chief engineer of the public works department's national highway division should appoint an assistant engineer to investigate why the potholes on the road were not filled and why road maintenance was not carried out on time.

The report should be submitted within three weeks. The case will be considered at a sitting in Thiruvananthapuram on Oct 11, where the investigating officers must be present in person.