School buses turning unsafe for minors in MP?

Madhya Pradesh is fast turning unsafe for minors on buses even as the police maintain that they are doing whatever is legally possible to curb the growing trend.

However, the latest incidents across the state and the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report belie the police claim. The bureau report shows Madhya Pradesh on top in child rape cases across the country.

On Tuesday, a four-year-old girl was raped on the school bus by the conductor in Ujjain. The accused, assaulted the minor after all the students got off the bus. The victim narrated the incident to her parents, who later filed a complaint against the conductor with the police.

In another incident, a 17-year-old boy was sodomised on a bus by its driver at Bhopal’s Inter-State Bus Terminus on Wednesday. The accused was arrested after the victim lodged a case with the police.

In a Nirbhaya-like case, a 14-year- old girl was raped by five men, including the driver in Singrauli on April 20, 2015. She got seriously injured when she was thrown out of the bus and knocked down by another vehicle on the road.

Director general of police (DGP) Surendra Sinh said that the police were fully following the Supreme Court guidelines in this connection, like verification of the bus driver and the staff in the police station concerned, holding awareness seminars in schools.

However, he pointed out that the police could effectively curb such crimes only through a vigilant cooperation by people.

LATEST ADDITIONS

GPS and CCTV have been made compulsory in school buses

School bus drivers are restricted to have interaction with students beyond a limit in school bus and socializing with students is also limited

Entering school grounds are restricted to authorized people. Any person suspicious entering the school premises will be reported without fail

ID cards are issued to parents, which must be bought while picking up their children. If they cannot come for picking up their children, an SMS must be sent authorizing another person to pick them up

Under section 188 Act of the Indian Penal Code, any failure on the school’s behalf to obey these new rules and regulations can lead to punishment