A day after four children were killed as their school van caught fire in Punjab's Sangrur, the driver and school principal have been arrested, the police said.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Sukhbinder Pal Singh said the two were arrested on murder charges after a complaint was filed by a child's father.
"The complainant has stated that the school principal and driver had been warned about the condition of an auto-rickshaw in which the children were taken to school. They provided a van but it wasn't safe either. They deliberately endangered the lives of children," he added.
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) , the top Sikh religious body, has announced Rs 1 lakh compensation for the families of the children. SGPC chief Gobind Singh Longowal demanded strict action against those responsible for the deaths.
The children, who were charred to death inside the vehicle, included a three-year-old girl going to school for the first time, the police said.
The van, that was fitted with an LPG cylinder, was bought by the school authorities on Friday, just a day before the fire.
After the incident, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh directed officials to conduct safety checks of all school buses.
Twelve children were in the van at the time of the fire. While eight children were rescued from the burning van by people working in nearby fields, four of them were burnt alive.
Punjab Woman Gets Fired After Asking For 'Raksha Bandhan' Leave. Company Responds James Cameron Clears The Air About Michelle Yeoh's Role In Avatar 3: "She's In 4 And 5" Rocket Fired From Gaza Fell In Sea Off Tel Aviv: Israel Army Who Is Jasveen Sangha, "Ketamine Queen" Charged With Matthew Perry's Death Mamata Banerjee To Take Out Rally Over Rape-Murder. Trinamool Explains Why "Don't Expect Anything From Me": Kolkata Hospital's New Principal Loses Cool UCC To Corruption, 4 Messages From Modi's Independence Day Speech What ISRO's 'Baby Rocket' Launch Means For India's Future In Space Pakistan Reports 1st M-Pox Case As Saudi Arabia Returnee Tests Positive Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.