Manipal School Bus Accident: Conductor Arrested for Driving Without Valid Licence
Udupi: The investigation into the school bus accident reported under the jurisdiction of Manipal Police Station has taken a serious turn after police found that the conductor who had lodged the complaint was, in fact, driving the vehicle at the time of the crash. The accused, Mohammed Rahij, 20, a resident of Katapady, has now been arrested.
The accident took place at around 8:05 a.m. on June 25 near Syndicate Circle Down, in front of Central Park Hotel on National Highway 169(A), when a school bus bearing registration number KA-19-AB-5977, belonging to Al Ibad Indian School, Perampalli, rammed into a road divider. Several schoolchildren travelling in the bus sustained injuries in the incident.
Initially, Mohammed Rahij, who was serving as the bus conductor, filed a complaint alleging that his father, Rizwan, was driving the vehicle when the accident occurred. Based on this complaint, Manipal Police registered Crime No. 101/2026 under Sections 281 and 125(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and launched an inquiry.
However, the investigation later revealed a different version of events. Police examined CCTV footage from the accident site and confirmed that it was Mohammed Rahij himself who had been behind the wheel. The footage also showed the bus losing control before crashing into the divider.
Following this discovery, Sections 110 and 229 of the BNS were additionally invoked in the case. Investigators further found that Rahij did not possess a valid driving licence to operate the school bus.
Police also stated that the owner of the school bus had permitted Rahij to drive the vehicle despite knowing that he was not licensed, thereby putting the lives of the schoolchildren at risk. Legal action has therefore been initiated against both the bus owner and Rahij for allowing unauthorised driving and for submitting a false complaint.
On July 3, Mohammed Rahij was arrested and produced before the jurisdictional court, which remanded him to judicial custody.
The case has raised concerns over school transport safety and the need for strict compliance with traffic and licensing norms to prevent similar incidents in the future.
