By IANS
Dubai : The father of an Indian schoolgirl, one of two who died in an accident, is planning to sue the Indian School in Ras Al Khaimah for negligence.
Five-year-old Sasinas Jayadas, one of the two victims, succumbed to her injuries Sunday. The other, 14-year-old Joji Mathew Kuruvilla, had died Friday.
“The school currently claims that my little daughter opened the door of the school bus and jumped out onto the street… a version which I completely reject,” Sasinas’s father K.V. Jayadas told the Gulf News.
The two girls died after being hit by a car while crossing the street in front of Sasinas’s residence.
“The management is trying to cover up and protect its employees. It is not the issue of my daughter who is dead. It is the issue of hundreds of other students who face similar risks while going to school and returning home,” Jayadas told the newspaper, adding that he has already started procedures to sue the school for criminal negligence.
According to reports, after the bus stopped on Shamal Al Rams Main Street last Thursday, students on board were asked whether anyone would help Sasinas cross the road.
Joji volunteered but Sasinas went a little ahead. The five-year-old did not see the car approaching and Joji rushed to stop her. Both were then hit by the car, which was driven by a local resident, and sustained critical injuries.
“The lock to the school bus door is controlled only by the driver who can open and close it,” Jayadas, a shop owner, was quoted as saying.
“Two weeks before the accident, I informed the school management about my concerns over the dropping of my daughter opposite my house,” he said, adding that the next U-turn was less than 300 metres away.
He said he has prepared a complaint, which he would submit to the Indian consulate in Dubai, with a copy to the Indian Ambassador to the UAE and another to the private education department of the Ministry of Education.
A.M.M. Noorudheen, general secretary of the Ras Al Khaimah Indian Association and the Indian School, said the school bus has been dropping the little girl off in the same place for the past two years.
“The bus driver and caretakers were suspended by the school after the accident. The school management is investigating the accident and will take strict action should the driver and the caretaker be held responsible for the accident,” he said.