TRAGEDY STRIKES ON EID AS SIX KIDS DIE IN SCHOOL BUS CRASH

Driver was drunk| GL Public School located in Kanina town of Mahendragarh was open on holiday| Principal taken into custody

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Six children were killed and around 20 injured as their school bus crashed into a tree and overturned in Haryana's Mahendragarh, on Thursday, with police saying they have arrested three people including the principal and the driver who was allegedly drunk.

GL Public School located in Kanina town of Mahendragarh was open a holiday. The bus was headed to school with about 35 children. The accident took place near village Unhani.

Five children died on the spot, while 1 passed away in a hospital. The children who died in the accident have been identified as Satyam (16), Yuvraj (14), two brothers Yashu and Anshu, Vansh (14) and Ricky (15). Of these, 4 are from the same village Jhadli. The son of former sarpanch Sanjay Sharma, nephew of former state education minister Ram Bilas Sharma, is also among those who died.

Mahendragarh SP Arsh Verma said that the incident occurred at around 8.30 in the morning. The driver was reported to be under the influence of alcohol. "He was driving the school bus at a very high speed. Due to which the bus slipped from the road and collided with a tree," he said.

The police have taken school principal Deepti Rao into custody.

The state government has suspended Mahendragarh Regional Transport Authority (RTA) Assistant Secretary Pradeep Kumar. They have been held responsible for not stopping vehicles running without valid documents.