Chennai: Less than a week after Class II girl Shruti died after falling through a hole on the floor of her school bus, an 18-month-old boy was crushed under the wheels of a mini bus that came to pick up his brothers for school, at Annanur near Avadi on Monday morning. Angry neighbours allegedly attempted in vain to catch the driver as he fled the spot. They then pelted stones at the bus, damaging its glass windows. The mini-bus driver was later arrested by police, who said there was no cleaner in the bus.
When the mini-bus arrived in front of their house at Pillayar Koil Street, the victim’s mother, Meena, hurriedly brought out her two other boys, Santhosh, a Class I student, and Sudhakar, who studied in LKG, police said. Meanwhile, her youngest son, Sanjay, was playing in the house. Her husband, Anandan (45), who owned a tea stall in the Annanur railway station, was at work.
Meena proceeded to open the small wooden gate to her house and helped her two boys board the bus. Then, she reportedly picked up a conversation with Mohan, the mini-bus driver. It was only when Mohan stepped on the gas that Meena saw Sanjay being crushed under the wheels of the mini-bus. Meena screamed out as neighbours rushed to stop the vehicle. “I don’t know how he went near the bus,” said a weeping Meena.
Sanjay could have followed his mother without her knowledge when she opened the front gate and crawled under the bus, which was parked just a feet away from the entrance of the house, police sources said. Viswanathan, Anandan’s landlord and an eyewitness, told Express, “I saw the baby there and turned away to wash my face when I heard his mother scream. Immediately, I rushed and alerted the driver to stop. Had a cleaner been on board, he could have noticed the baby, he said.
The incident affected traffic in the area for some time. Later, Poonamallee traffic investigation police arrested Mohan and sent the infant’s body to Kilpauk Medical Hospital for post mortem.
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