Last rites for Aatish conducted in Mumbai

Abu Dhabi: The last rites for a four-year-old child who died after allegedly being left locked inside a bus on Thursday, were conducted on Sunday evening in Mumbai in the presence of relatives and friends, a family friend told Gulf News.

Aatish's body was flown to Mumbai on Sunday morning from Abu Dhabi.

"It is a tragic coincidence that he reached here on March 27 and and was taken back on April 27. It is painful to see the happiest time of a family last only a month," said Aravind, a colleague of Aatish's father.

Aatish had been living in Mumbai with his grandparents because his parents were busy with their jobs.

Aatish's father said his son was in good health when he went to the Merryland Kindergarten school that fateful day.

He was absent only one day, April 17, because he had a cough, apart from that he regularly attended. He was reacting to a statement given by a school spokesperson to Gulf News that Aatish was absent for three days before the incident.

Aatish died after he was allegedly locked behind in the school van for at least three hours before being found unconscious by the driver. The police report said that the driver and attendant were not paying enough attention.

The driver said in his statement that he thought the conductor had checked the bus thoroughly. The boy was seated in the rear end of the 16-seater van, said police.

The driver of the external transport providers for the kindergarten was arrested. The conductor absconded.

Merryland Kindergarten Management in its latest statement issued to Gulf News on Sunday said its first response that the child was absent for three days was given by a spokesman who was trying to gather information as quickly as possible. This piece of information was, at the time, unconfirmed. The statement added it had been verified by the teacher and supervisor and confirmed by the attendance register that the child was absent on April 22.

A medical report confirmed Aatish did not suffocate and mentions the boy was unwell.

Based on the initial police report, the prosecution granted bail to the driver and called off the search for the bus conductor.