Rishab Singh, a seven year old child who was admitted to Kolkata’s SSKM Hospital after a pool car carrying him and other students fell into a ditch, died around 5 am on Saturday. He was admitted for eight days in the hospital following the accident in Hooghly’s Polba. The child died of multi-organ failure as infection started spreading inside his body even as he was kept under life support.
The pool car – full of children headed to school – was found speeding. Fifteen children were injured in the accident out of which three including Rishab and Divyangshu Bhakat were in serious condition. Divyansghu’s condition is, improving gradually, doctors said.
Owner of the pool car was arrested on Friday. It was alleged that the pool cars that operated under him used to shift students midway during the journey to accommodate a larger number of students in a comparatively bigger vehicle. This was found by police from CCTV footage of a local petrol pump during investigation. Parents said that they were completely unaware of such a thing going on for so long.
Pool cars operating in the state have often been accused of flouting safety rules and carrying a larger number of students than their capacity.
