Udupi: Manipal Police have arrested a 20-year-old school bus conductor for allegedly filing a false complaint after an investigation revealed that he, and not the driver named in his complaint, was behind the wheel of a school bus involved in an accident that left several students injured. The accused, Mohammed Rahij (20), a resident of Katapadi, was arrested after police found that he was allegedly driving the bus without a valid licence at the time of the crash.
Accident injured several schoolchildren
The accident occurred at around 8.05 am on June 25 near Syndicate Circle Down on National Highway 169(A), opposite Central Park Hotel, within the jurisdiction of the Manipal Police Station.
The school bus, bearing registration number KA-19-AB-5977 and belonging to Al-Ibaadah School, Perampalli, rammed into a road divider, resulting in injuries to several schoolchildren travelling in the vehicle.
Following the incident, Mohammed Rahij lodged a complaint stating that his father, Rizwan, had been driving the bus at the time of the accident.
Based on the complaint, police initially registered a case under Sections 281 and 125(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
CCTV footage revealed conductor was driving
During the investigation, police examined CCTV footage from the accident spot, which allegedly showed that Mohammed Rahij himself was driving the school bus when it crashed.
Further inquiries revealed that he did not possess a valid driving licence.
Based on these findings, police invoked Sections 110 and 229 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the accused for allegedly providing false information and related offences.
Action initiated against bus owners
Investigators also found that the owners of the school bus had allegedly permitted an unlicensed person to operate the vehicle despite the risks posed to the safety of schoolchildren.
Police have initiated legal action against the vehicle owners for allowing an unauthorised individual to drive the bus.
The case has raised concerns over compliance with safety norms governing the operation of school transport vehicles.
Accused remanded to judicial custody
Mohammed Rahij was arrested on July 3 and produced before the jurisdictional court, which remanded him to judicial custody.
Police said further investigation is under way to ascertain all the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine whether additional violations of law had occurred.