Parked school bus goes up in flames

A school bus parked on the premises of BT Memorial School at Kalewadi caught fire in the wee hours yesterday.u00a0

Although the school principal suspects the involvement of a disgruntled parent whose daughter was suspended for eight days, the Sangavi police say the fire appears to be an outcome of a short circuit.u00a0

A security guard informed the fire brigade about the burning bus.u00a0Pravin Totlani, trustee of the Thavardas Dayaram Education and Social Welfare Trust, which runs the school, said he received a call from the locals saying that someone had torched a bus on the school's premises.u00a0

School Principal Anita Totlani said, "This happened when the security guard had gone to the washroom. As he returned, he saw that the bus was on fire around 3.30 am. He then alerted the locals and the fire brigade."u00a0

Totlani suspects the role of Pravin Tak behind this incident. She said, "Tak's daughter Aanchal studies in Junior KG in our school. Last August, we had had taken disciplinary action against her for not maintaining cleanliness. Following this, Tak had threatened me in front of everyone of dire consequences in August."

Totlani informed that following Tak's threat she had lodged a complaint with Kalewadi police. "The police had not taken any action against this person. And I have every reason to believe that he is behind this act."

Senior Police Inspector Shantaram Tayde from the Sangavi police station said, "There was a little possibility of girl's parents' involvement in this act, considering that the student is studying in the same school even now. The school has a strong gate and moreover, the security guard had told us that he had not seen anyone entering the premises. We suspect that the fire was due to a short circuit, but even then we are considering all the angles related to the incident."