SHAME: 2 minor students injured as school bus pelted with stones

Srinagar, May 02: Two school going children were injured when their bus was pelted with stones in south Kashmir’s Shopian on Wednesday morning.
Police sources said that a bus belonging to Rainbow International School came under attack in Zavoora area of Shopian.
Some of the bus windows sustained damaged, resulting in injuries to the two schoolchildren. The injured students were immediately rushed to a hospital where one of them was discharged while another, a class II student, was referred to Srinagar for further treatment.
A senior police officer in the district said the incident happened around 9:25am when the bus carrying at least 40 students of Rainbow High School at Zavoora in Shopian was passing through Narpora area of Shopian.
“The driver showed some presence of mind and increased the speed so that he could avoid getting hit. However, unfortunately, a child was seriously hurt in his head. We had his CT scan, he is currently fine,” the official said.
He added that two other students also received some minor injuries and they were sent home after first aid.
“The kids are scared. We could not ask them about the attackers,” the officer said.
Father of the student who was referred to Srinagar, while speaking to reporters, said the attack was against humanity.
“These kids are innocent and they have nothing to do with anything. If anything, school buses should not be targeted. Everybody has kids. This could have happened to anybody’s child. School buses should not become the target of stone pelting,” he said.
Shopian district was observing a shutdown on Wednesday against the killing of two militants, including Hizb ‘Commander’ Sameer ‘Tiger’, and a civilian in an encounter at Drabgam in neighbouring Pulwama district.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti condemned the attack on the school bus and said the perpetrators will be punished.
“Shocked & angered to hear of the attack on a school bus in Shopian. The perpetrators of this senseless & cowardly act will be brought to justice,” she tweeted.
Expressing his anguish former chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said, “How does pelting stones on school children or tourist buses help advance the agenda of these stone pelters? These attacks deserve our unequivocal condemnation.”
Abdullah questioned the acts of stone pelters who took advantage of the government’s amnesty.
“The amnesty granted to stone-pelters was meant to encourage more reasonable behaviour, but some of these goons are determined to use the opportunity given to them to just pelt more stones,” he said.
Jammu& Kashmir Police Chief SP Vaid said that those responsible for attack on school bus in Shopian will have to face the music.
“Miscreants pelted stones on school bus of Rainbow School Shopian resulted in injuries to 2nd class student Rehan. He has been shifted to SKIMS for treatment with head injury. Complete madness how stone pelters are targeting young school children. These criminals will face the law,” Vaid tweeted.