Police have seized the SUV bearing Gujarat registration plate and arrested the driver. (Representational)
Five children, including two siblings, died while one was injured in a road accident when a speeding SUV ran over them in Raniwara area of Jalore district in Rajasthan on Wednesday afternoon, police said.
All the children were walking back to their homes from school.
Jalore Superintendent of Police Shyam Singh said four children died on the spot while another died due to injuries in the hospital. One injured has been undergoing treatment in a hospital in Sanchore in the district, he added.
After the accident, the vehicle got stuck in a nearby agriculture farm. Police have seized the SUV bearing Gujarat registration plate and arrested the driver identified as Suresh Rajput, who owned the vehicle.
The police said six children studying in Government Senior Secondary School in Dantwara village were on their way home after school got over at 4 pm.
"All of them were walking back to their homes that are a little distant from the school on Karna-Raniwara road. They were walking on the side of a single road when suddenly, a speeding Toyota Innova came from behind and hit one of the six students," the police said.
After hitting one child, the driver lost control of the vehicle and ran straight over the other students before plowing the SUV into a nearby agricultural field.
Four of the students got crushed under the vehicle and died on the spot. Two others were rushed to hospital, where one was declared brought dead.
Those who died have been identified as Rameela Dewasi, Raveena Dewasi, Suresh Dewasi, Kamla Dewasi and Vikram Dewasi, all studying between Classes 6 to 10. The injured child identified as Veena Dewasi is undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Kamla and Suresh were the siblings among the victims while the rest were not related to the others.
All the students were about to reach their homes around 10 minutes from the spot where the accident took place. All of them belonged to financially weaker families. All the local villagers rushed to the affected families to console the grieving parents.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressed their condolences to the aggrieved families of the children, terming the incident unfortunate and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured girl.