A school bus driver is being hailed as a hero after he drove the students to safety despite coming under barrage of stones from the ubiquitous gang of stone-pelters at Narpora village of South Kashmir's Shopian district.
More than 30 students were on board the bus of Rainbow School when it was attacked by the stone pelters at Narpora on Wednesday. Displaying exemplary bravery and presence of mind, driver Javed Ahmad drove the bus four kilometers away to take the students to safety. A Class II student was injured in the incident.
"The driver showed intelligence and he rushed the vehicle. Despite that some stone hits the wind screens. One of the stones pierced through and hit the head of an eight-year-old student. Had driver stopped, more students would have got injured," said Shailendra Kumar Mishra, Senior Superintendent of Police, Shopian.
Mishra said he would be talking to district development commissioner of Shopian to honour the driver. "It is my personal opinion. I will speak to the Deputy Commissioner first (about honoring the driver)", he said.
The Rainbow School too has decided to honor the driver once the school resumes the class work. The school was shut on Thursday after a teenage boy was killed in the clashes on Wednesday evening.
"We salute the courage of the driver. On the day school reopens, he would be honored. In fact he deserves this honour for showing the courage", said Sajad Ahmad, principal of Rainbow School Shopian.
Driver Javed on the other side regretted that despite driving fast, one of the students suffered injuries. "Students were screaming and I tried to drive fast. Despite that, one student was injured. I tried hard to save the students. I took the bus directly to the school", he said.
