THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The arrest of a 26-year-old school van driver on charges of molestation of a minor girl, Reshma, who had committed suicide on Thursday, has come as a double blow to the district administration. It was just two weeks ago that the City Road Safety Committee had rejected a set of guidelines, put forward by former District Collector Dinesh Arora, to ensure the safety of school students, who depend on private vehicle services to travel from home and school and back.Dinesh Arora had issued the guidelines after six kindergarten students and their ayah drowned when the vehicle they were travelling capsized into the dirt of Parvathy Puthanar, a few months ago. The vehicle was driven by a 19-year-old youth. The City Police had also embarked on a strict enforcement drive to ensure that the drivers complied with the guidelines. But this fuelled protest among the private school van operators, who alleged that the police tortured them in the name of enforcement checks. They also went on a stir. One key suggestion in the set of guidelines was regarding the age of school van drivers. It was mandated that the drivers should have minimum 10 years of experience and also an attendant must accompany the vehicle during its service. The guidelines further insisted that the schools should appoint a safety officer to monitor the transportation of students. If at least one of these guidelines was complied with, the tragedy, that befell the girl, could have averted as the accused had lured the her during the school trips. A meeting of the Road Safety Committee convened two weeks ago had nullified the set of guidelines, since its implementation had no legal backing. “The representatives of the school van operators had argued in the meeting that no law which supported enforcement of the guidelines existed,” said District Collector P M Francis. The Collector also told ‘Express’ that as of now, no effective measures were in place to ensure the safety of the students in private school vans. “We are planning an awareness campaign involving parents, school authorities and the Parent Teacher Associations in this regard,” the Collector said. Praveen Kumar, the accused in the molestation case, was produced before the Magistrate, who remanded him in judicial custody on Sunday. Fort Circle Inspector Anilkumar, who is investigating the case, said that the police would file an application before the court soon seeking the custody of Praveen Kumar for further interrogation.
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