An eight-year-old girl studying in Class 3 at Delhi Public School (DPS) died after being run over by her school van outside her home in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj.
The incident took place on Thursday afternoon.
According to reports, the child had got off the school van and was taking out her school bag when the driver allegedly reversed the vehicle without ensuring that she had moved to a safe distance. She was trapped between the van and the boundary wall of her house and suffered critical injuries. The incident was captured on a CCTV camera installed in the area.
The victim has been identified as Tasvani Udayanshi Pathak, the only daughter of Manish Pathak and Aarti Dubey. The family is originally from Mirzapur district. Manish works for a private company in Delhi, while Aarti is a teacher at a government primary school in Gorakhpur.
Tasvani lived with her grandfather Surendra Pathak and grandmother Kadambini Pathak and studied in Class 3 at Delhi Public School. Her family had arranged a private school van for her daily commute.
The school van reached the family's residence at around 1:45 pm on Thursday to drop the child home.
After getting down from the vehicle, Tasvani moved towards the rear of the van to take out her school bag. According to family members and eyewitnesses, she was still removing the bag when the driver allegedly put the vehicle in reverse and moved it backwards.
The girl came under the vehicle and was crushed between the van and the boundary wall. Hearing the screams of children inside the van, family members and local residents rushed to the spot and pulled her out from under the vehicle.
She was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
Driver Caught By Locals
Following the incident, local residents and passersby caught the van driver when he allegedly tried to flee from the spot. Police were informed and a team from the police station reached the scene and took the driver into custody.
The other schoolchildren travelling in the van were later sent to their homes in another vehicle.
DCP Yamunanagar Vivek Chandra Yadav said the van and its driver have been taken into custody and further investigation is underway.
(With inputs from Deepak Gambhir)
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