‘Private van was on commercial run for a year’

The Maruti Omni van did not have a permit for commercial use, but it was never booked for registration certificate violation. Sources said it had been ferrying schoolchildren on the route for over a year, but was never stopped or checked by police.

The Delhi Traffic Police, however, passed the buck to school administration saying they should discourage the use of private vehicles by informing parents that such practice is "illegal".

A senior traffic officer said: "A private vehicle (cannot) take passengers on hire. It is for personal use. The said vehicle (Omni van) was plying in an unauthorised manner. The vehicle committed an RC violation."

The traffic police has conducted drives against private vehicles being used for commercial purpose. In 2012, a total of 1,115 vehicles were booked for RC violation in the capital.

According to sources, the driver of Omni van also violated traffic rules as he was speeding, had jumped a red light and was not wearing a seat belt. The student who died in the accident was on the front passenger seat and was not wearing a seat belt either.

The driver has been arrested and police are checking if the car had been booked for violations or impounded earlier.

"We do not have the infrastructure in place to ascertain if the van had previously been involved in any violation, but we are trying to check the records," a traffic officer said.

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