Patna, Sept. 16: A school student riding on a bike was crushed to death by a bus of his school near Saguna Mor under Danapur police station today, raising questions about the implementation of rules the educational institutions are supposed to follow regarding arrangement of transportation for their students. A friend of the deceased, who was riding pillion, fractured his leg in the accident.

Sources said the school bus hit the underage boys, who were riding a motorbike, around 11.40am. The deceased has been identified as 15-year-old Deepak. The Class X student of DAV, Khagaul, was a resident of Priyadarshi Nagar in Danapur. He was also the owner of the bike.

The pillion rider was Class IX student Adhiraj. Though he has broken a leg, he is out of danger.

The duo were returning home after taking CBSE summative assessment this morning when the mishap occurred.

“Deepak died in the course of treatment at a nursing home. Abhiraj has a broken leg but is out of danger,” Danapur deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Anil Kumar told The Telegraph.

Police refused to confirm if the bus belonged to the school but the principal of the education institution, D.K. Ghosh, said it was hired from a private operator to trans- port students.

“The accident occurred on Bailey Road near Saguna Mor. Around 24 buses transport students of the school of which four are owned by us. We do not own the bus that was allegedly involved in the mishap. We had hired it from a private operator,” said Ghosh.

He added: “The bus did not hit the boys. The duo were on a motorbike and it was being driven rashly. They hit the bus head-on.”

Sources said the bus involved in the accident sped away but the people in the area stopped another bus of the school and thrashed its driver.

“As the school closed after the examination, several buses of the school were plying on the same route. The people of the area stopped one of them after the mishap, pulled out its driver and beat him up. The people thought that it was the same bus that had hit the students. The teachers in the bus somehow pacified the people on the road. The police were called in immediately,” a cop said.

The two students were rushed to a nursing home, while the school bus and the driver were taken into custody.

“At present, there is some confusion about the bus, which hit the boys. The driver of the bus that has been caught claims that it was some other vehicle. We are investigating the matter. Though the driver was roughed up, the students on the bus are unharmed. They were shifted to another school bus and sent home,” the DSP said.

Deepak’s father Anjani Kumar Singh is a farmer.

Parents of schoolchildren in the state capital were shocked over the incident. Dinesh Kumar, whose son is a student of a famous city school, said: “How can the schools say the hired buses are not theirs. It is very insensitive. As the private buses are hired to transport students of the schools, they are responsible for any mishap.”

Srijana Roy, another parent, said underage youths should not be allowed to own or ride two-wheelers. “Parents should not allow wards to ride two-wheelers because they tend to drive very rashly,” she said.