School van attacked after Class 8 boy’s death

It triggered protests by villagers, who unleashed an attack on the school van for causing the mishap. They also resorted to a road roko demanding the arrest of the reckless driver. However, the driver managed to flee from the spot. 

According to police, Dinesh Kumar, 13, son of farmer couple Muguresan and Devaki from Pethanaickenpalayam was pedaling his way to buy milk on Ethapur-Idayapatty Road, when the mishap happened on Monday morning. The boy was studying in Class 8 in a government school in the neighbourhood. 

“The boy was trapped along with his cycle in the wheels of the van and was dragged for a distance of about 100 feet. The vehicle driver, who was unaware of the accident, stopped the van only on hearing the loud screams of the onlookers,” police said. 

Irate public then attacked the van and damaged its windshields. They also resorted to a road block on the Ethapur-Idayapatty stretch resulting in traffic disruptions for a short while. 

On information, the Ethapur police rushed to the spot and requested the villagers to withdraw the protest. Police have registered a case and are on the lookout for driver Mathaiyan.