BAGLUNG, Feb 21: A day after four people were killed and 10 injured in a jeep accident at Chhisti of Jaimini Municipality in Baglung, it has been learnt that a 15-year-old schoolboy was behind the wheel.
The overloaded jeep was carrying guardians and students returning from the annual function of Janakalyan Secondary School (JSS) in the municipality. Some passengers were on the roof also.
The ill-fated jeep belonged to Nur Bahadur Pun, chairman of the School Management Committee. No one on board the jeep objected when Pun’s 15-year-old son Prabin, a ninth grader at the same school, took the driving seat. The boy is among the injured.
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“It was getting dark and we had no driver. My son is good at driving so we allowed him to take the driver’s seat,” said chairman Pun. “ The road was slippery as it had rained in the morning. I told all of them that the jeep will not be able to carry so many passengers but they didn’t listen.”
According to him, his teenage son had carried passengers to Baglung Bazaar in the morning and then returned to Chhisti. Pun’s daughter, a seventh grader, was among the three students killed in the accident. The school’s assistant accountant was also killed.
DPO spokesman Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Chiranjibi Koirala said the deceased have been identified as Pun’s daughter Jyoti; ninth grader Alina Pun; 12th garder Priyanka Pun; and assistant accountant of the school Tulasi Pun. All of them were residents of Chhisti.
Of the total 10 injured passengers, four in critical condition have been taken to Pokhara for treatment. While eyewitnesses claimed that there were around 25-30 students in the jeep, police said there were 14 people on board.
The accident had occurred due to brake failure on a slippery road, according to Superintendent of Police (SP) Deepak Regmi, chief of the District Police Office, Baglung. Police said they will interrogate the young driver once he is able to talk.
Caption: Passengers injured in the jeep accident of Tuesday getting treatment in Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital.
